Brigita's Here!

In June 2016, Ahmad Zaini and Adi Nugroho created a petition that asked the Indonesian House of Representatives to increase paternity leave from 2 days to 2 weeks. Law No. 13 of 2003 on Manpower mandated two days of paid paternity leave for the birth of a child or in the case of miscarriage. Zaini and Nugroho, the founders of the fathers' movement known as 'Ayah Ada' aimed to improve the Indonesian parenting ecosystem by implementing better policies through their petition. This petition that was made on 2016 International Father’s Day, got 32,112 supporters, and went nowhere. Regrettably, Irgan Mahfiz , a senator from the House of Representatives, argued that paternity leave is unusual and unnecessary. “It is western people’s tradition. Do not bring it to Indonesia,” said Mahfiz. What a shame.  Fast forward to date: Indonesia has recently enacted new legislation, known as UU Kesehatan Ibu dan Anak , which focuses on maternal and child welfare during the first 1,000 days of...

Nearly a year after enacting the new health law, the Indonesian government issued the Government Regulation ( Peraturan Pemerintah ) Number 28 or  GR 28/2024 on July 26, 2024. This regulation implements Health Law No. 17 of 2023 with more clarification and less redundance. It accommodates 1,1172 articles, a lot more than the law’s 458 articles. Furthermore, the regulation delivers a range of topics, including: (a) tobacco products and electronic cigarettes; (b) processed foods; (c) digital health technologies; (d) mental health; (f) maternal, infant, and child health; (g) hospitals; (h) pharmaceuticals and medical services; (i) people with disabilities; and (j) sexual and reproductive health and rights. GR 28/2024 encompasses two progressive regulations that address health concerns. Firstly, the restrictions and prohibitions on the sale of tobacco products. Secondly, the initiatives in organizing and enhancing safety and quality for mothers and infants. Tobacco products and elect...

This year, I spent my first summer in Seattle. Months before, I imagined having a chill summer where I could explore many places in Washington State or elsewhere. I never imagined spending part of my summertime with new parents and their babies, facilitating conversation in English. But in a surprising turn of events, I had the valuable opportunity to volunteer as a Group Leader at PEPS.   Shout out to the Leader Recruiter, Anushree Dasgupta, who opened the gate for me!    As an Indonesian, I must admit that I have a solid fear and insecurity regarding my English-speaking abilities. What if I am unable to express my ideas well? What if my accent sounds weird? What if I could not keep up with the conversation? And a ton of other what-ifs.   My primary responsibility as a PEPS Group Leader was to lead weekly discussions with new parents in the northeast area of Seattle for 12 weeks. In my group, there were 7 parents, not to mention their adorable babies! Every Wed...

In today’s world, people are competing to make good money and have an impact at the same time. However, this phenomenon's first turning point occurred in the 1890s. It was called the rise of philanthropy when American industrialist Andrew Carnegie famously pronounced, “The man who dies rich, dies disgraced.” (Paul and Rabbat, 2021:29). Fast forward to the 2010s, and there was a rising period of conscious capitalists. In 2012, Kapor Capital came up with the idea of yoking investment dollars to social change. That was not a novel concept. Socially progressive mutual funds have been around for a long time (Lyonn, 2018: 202). In addition, Kapor believes impact investing might accomplish things that nonprofits and philanthropic organizations cannot achieve. Today’s business, as of 2022-2023 Interbrand Reports, is competing to be a leadership brand. It means they want their business and brand to be not only trendsetters but also leaders, so people will follow them. Furthermore, in order...

As a communication student and professional who has worked in a nonprofit setting for the last 5 years, the word impact means a lot to me. What are the impacts we plan to make through our programs? Are we sure our campaigns are having an impact on rural villages? How do we maintain our organization so that our programs are impactful? Those questions were constantly running through my mind. Therefore, when I read The New Reason to Work by Roshan Paul and Ilaina Rabat, it feels like home. So familiar, and I could not agree more with many things both have written. However, the most insight I have gotten so far (I have not finished the book yet) is about the importance of aligning who you are with what you do. Paul and Rabat present this idea in a simple graphic that helps me digest it. Three bubbles with a circle arrow are present. The first bubble represents the INNER SELF, with subtexts of body, heart, and mind. The second bubble is OUTER SELF with subtext: behavior. The third bubble is...

Imagine you are faced with a critical challenge, but you have limited skill, competence, and support to overcome it. Are you sure you can combat that? You might be able to solve the obstacle, but are you sure it will obtain maximum outcomes? A similar analogy might be implied for one of the most critical health cases in Indonesia: stunting. Are you sure we can combat stunting if our resources have limited skill and competence, as well as an unsupported policy?  According to the Indonesia Nutritional Status Survey (2022), the province with the highest case of stunting is Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT). Stunting is more than a short stature. It has a strong connection to the long-term life of a human being. Theoretically, stunting is the impaired growth and development that children experience as a result of inadequate psychosocial stimulation, repeated infections, and poor nutrition. Some of those consequences include poor cognition and educational performance, low adult wages, lost pr...