(28/10) Social Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa inaugurated the first Desa Sejahtera Mandiri (DSM) in Indonesia. The guided village by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Unissula, Ngrawan Village, Getasan District, was established as an independent prosperous village with the name “model village of cultural tourism based creative economy”.

According to Khofifah, by becoming Desa Sejahtera Mandiri and getting the assistance of Unissula, the opportunities of Ngrawan village children to continue their education to a higher level are more wide open.

“We must continue to encourage children to attend school, do not let our kids know drugs. So with the cooperation with Unissula, it is expected that the assistance will keep running in addition to the parents’ guide, “said the minister from Surabaya.

Khofifah hoped that Ngrawan Village could be used as a pilot model for other villages to participate independently. Thus, the expectation of the DSM to be located in Indonesia can be realized.

Unissula Rector, Dr Anis Malik Thoha, Lc, MA said, Unissula would foster Ngrawan village by conducting a comprehensive review and make the village that was previously categorized as lagging to be open laboratory.

“We will continue to provide guidance by deploying our experts from various study programs, both in the areas of health, education, engineering to intervene ideas and concepts. This is done in order to devote together to the public as part of the practice of tri dharma college. “Said Anis.

The General Director of Social Empowerment of Social Ministry, Hartono Laras said that they would continue to search for local content which could be developed by Ngrawan Village. “We will still consider what kind of local content to be developed by the village. Especially related to culture, tourism, and the creative economy, “said Hartono.

Hartono added that the Ministry of Social Affairs has a target of 120 villages to be DSM throughout Indonesia. With the inclusion of this government program, he said, many houses have been renovated from unfit to be decent. At least 30 houses have been restored and the condition is now much more feasible than ever before.

This event was also attended by the regent of Semarang, Unissula academic and Getasan village community. In closing, the audience was entertained with Ngrawan mask dance.