| PT Freeport Indonesia and our
joint venture partner have since 1996 committed a portion of
revenues for the benefit of the local community through the
Freeport Partnership Fund for Community Development. The
partnership fund is administered and disbursed by an
organization called the Lembaga Pembangunan Masyarakat Amungme
dan Kamoro (LPMAK), or, in English, the Amungme and Kamoro
Community Development Institution. LPMAK is managed by a Board
of Commissioners consisting of representatives from the local
government, Papuan regional leaders, leaders from the local
Amungme and Kamoro communities and PT Freeport Indonesia. |
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LPMAK’s Board of Commissioners
establishes annual budgets for three main development program
areas — health, education and economic development — as well as
funding for programs supporting cultural and religious
activities. The budgets are based on development priorities
determined by LPMAK’s Board of Directors. The projects supported
by LPMAK directly benefit the Amungme and Kamoro people and five
other indigenous communities in the Mimika Regency — the Dani,
Moni, Ekari/Mee, Damal and Nduga peoples. These groups are
represented on the LPMAK Board of Directors through their
community, church and government leaders. LPMAK’s secretariat
office and program bureaus, which handle the daily activity of
the organization, currently consist of 120 employees, 76 percent
of whom are Papuan.
LPMAK has made a significant impact on the lives of the local
people by funding projects benefiting residents in villages
throughout the Mimika area. Examples include hospitals in Timika
and Banti that treat thousands of patients each year; the LPMAK
education program, which has provided scholarships or
educational assistance to thousands of Papuan students; and
economic and village development programs that have provided
rural income generation projects, clean water, church
facilities, and other infrastructure to remote villages in the
highlands of Papua. LPMAK is an accountable, professionally
managed and successful development program. It is one of the
largest privately funded social development programs in Asia.
During 2006, highlights of activities supported by LPMAK
included:
• Funding for two community hospitals that treated more than
12,000 in-patient visits and 125,000 out-patient visits during
2006 alone. The hospitals provide health care for the entire
community, but services are provided for nominal administrative
fees or free of charge to members of the seven Papuan tribal
groups indigenous to the area.
• Partnership programs with the local government for mother and
child health, and the prevention and treatment of malaria and
HIV/AIDS, as well as the training of nurses and the operation of
two clinics built by LPMAK in the remote highlands.
• Clean water projects at local government health clinics,
including construction of wells and toilets for families in the
remote Agimuga District.
• Scholarships for over 1,500 students from middle school to
university levels, with almost 300 post-secondary students
graduating in 2006.
• Improved quality of student dormitories through construction
of new boys’ and girls’ dormitories and funding for four other
dormitories so that students from remote areas have the
opportunity to attend middle and high school.
• In partnership with local church education foundations,
construction of new classrooms and school facilities and hiring
of additional teachers to improve the quality of education in
coastal areas.
• Support and technical training for more than 1,300
agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, trade and services
projects within the seven main tribal communities in the area.
• Capacity building activities for local Amungme and Kamoro
tribal councils, including support to local church organizations
for training, HIV/AIDS education, education support, and
construction of church facilities. |
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Contributions to the partnership
fund were $52 million for 2006, a 14 percent increase over
2005’s contribution, reflecting the company’s exceptional
financial performance in 2006. The total contributions to the
fund approximate $242 million since inception. The activities of
the LPMAK are conducted through program bureaus, consisting of
expert facilitators and community leaders, who also cooperate
with local government agencies and other non-governmental
organizations. These teams review project proposals submitted in
accordance with guidelines and budgets established by LPMAK.
These proposals are then reviewed by LPMAK’s Board of Directors.
LPMAK programs are closely coordinated with the local government
to ensure maximum impact in improving the quality of life for
residents in the Mimika area. Funds in excess of LPMAK’s
approved annual program budget are placed in a provident fund
for future program funding. As of December 2006, LPMAK had $45.5
million invested in the provident fund.
The LPMAK charter stipulates that project proposals must reflect
the charitable and development objectives of LPMAK and are
subject to financial and audit guidelines. Certain types of
activities are strictly prohibited and are not funded, including
political activities and projects that do not have a wide impact
on the community. Each year an independent auditor issues a
report on the LPMAK activities, and LPMAK publishes an annual
report, a monthly newsletter, and regular local news articles
detailing its programs to ensure transparency to the local
communities. |
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The Amungme and Kamoro Community
Development Organization (LPMAK) is the community council
responsible for managing the multi-million dollar community
fund for development in the region surrounding the Freeport
project area. LPMAK operates one of the largest development
programs in Indonesia.
LPMAK’s funding from the Freeport Partnership Fund for
Community Development in 2006 totaled approximately $48
million, with total contributions to the fund since its
inception 10 years ago totaling approximately $242 million.
LPMAK has the responsibility to deliver to the Papuan people
in the area high-quality health, education and economic
development programs.
LPMAK Executive Secretary John Nakiaya understands that
operating a world-class program requires a global
perspective. That’s one reason PT Freeport Indonesia’s
Social Outreach and Local Development group’s Capacity
Building section recently facilitated a work-study visit for
the LPMAK leadership to the Palabora Foundation in South
Africa, where the Palabora Foundation has enjoyed a long and
successful association with the mining industry. The key
objective was to study and compare best practices in the
areas of health, education and economic development.
Nakiaya explained, “We are here to learn from the successful
initiatives of the Palabora Foundation. The results they
have achieved are numerous, but that does not intimidate us
from accomplishing the same, as we would like to adopt some
of their methods and work ethic for our programs in Papua.”
Nakiaya says he learned that his South African peers do not
offer as wide a variety of programs as those managed by his
own organization, but rather a few focused, specialized
education programs for children and training programs for
adults. He adds, “Their partnership with the government is
also impressive, incorporating labor and funding assistance
to support the foundation programs. It is this partnership
that has contributed to their success.”
The Freeport and LPMAK group visited several schools,
clinics and training centers in the region. Freeport Vice
President of Social Outreach and Local Development Arief
Latif said, “Palabora has very similar issues and programs
to what we have in Indonesia. These similarities will
expedite the application of ‘lessons learned’ and ‘best
practices’ to our programs.”
The work-study is part of Freeport Indonesia’s ongoing
support to help LPMAK strengthen its organization, and to
improve and maximize the deployment of resources for
community development. In the 10 years since the Partnership
Fund was initiated, Freeport Indonesia has devoted
professional resources to assist its partners at LPMAK to
work toward best practices, including facilitating
introductions to other successful programs.
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LPMAK Executive
Director John Nakiaya, as part of a best practices
work-study program,
visits a South African school supported by the Palabora
Foundation. |
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