Learning From Covid-19 Pandemic: Islamic Philanthropy In Indonesia

By Professor Amelia Fauzia

Since March 2020, Indonesia has recorded 127,000 cases of Covid-19 at the time of writing,  the 24th highest figure in the world. While the pandemic has brought crises and apprehension, it has also brought some blessings in disguise.

For one thing, it has stimulated a rise in giving during the first few months of pandemic, which coincided with Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr celebrations. The Zakat Forum, for example, reported a significant increase in zakat over last year’s figure (See Covid-19 and the blessings of online zakat in Indonesia). Moreover, it has helped to strengthen social justice philanthropy. First, there is a growing awareness of both the existing types of charitable giving and long-term philanthropy and that both have a role to play. Second, there is an awareness of vulnerable groups who are invisible in ‘normal’ times. Third, we have seen the growth of more inclusive, non-discriminatory faith-based giving.

These thoughts are from my experience as a researcher on Islamic philanthropy, and as director of the Social Trust Fund (STF) of Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic University Jakarta, a social and humanitarian foundation within one of the biggest state Islamic universities in Indonesia. Since our establishment in 2012, STF has been providing scholarships, advocacy and research. In most disasters, we have not become involved in relief work, but instead have provided scholarship. We focus on medium- and long-term programmes to promote philanthropy for social justice and peace, undertaking especially research and advocacy but the circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic have brought a change.

At the start of the outbreak, our university moved to online learning and asked students to stay home. However, many students could not go home. They remained on campus. They had no money from their parents who are poor and affected by pandemic, and the jobs they do on the side such as tutoring children and religious instruction had gone. They were trapped by a semi lock-down policy at the campus without money to buy groceries. At the end of March, our online survey logged 615 cases of need, asking for food, hospital support and internet access for online learning. The situation worsened, and by May our hotline had received 1,510 requests.

Balancing relief and a long-term program

With students starving in front to us, we could do nothing else but abandon our normal priorities. As we did not have much money, we raised funds. Our fundraising increased sharply, from about 20 million rupiah per month of retail donations, to about 200 million a month. From March to June, we collected around 700 million rupiah. We organized meals, for needy students for two months including during Ramadhan (fasting month) and nutritional supplements to boost their immune systems. We also provided internet access for students’ online learning and exams.

We have been trying to balance this relief work with our long-term philanthropy. We provide meals by collaborating with small canteens, supporting them to increase their capacity and, at the same time, we are raising awareness via our online seminars and my own academic presentations on philanthropy, religion and the pandemic. In this way, we have educated people about relief, charity and social justice philanthropy and we have found a way to combine our relief and educational work, using relief activities as a strategy to promote philanthropy. Previously, many considered short-term relief as the most important and effective way to help others. I am happy that, during the pandemic, there is an increase of understanding of the need for long-term philanthropic activities.

Unseen Vulnerable Groups And Sectors

The pandemic has revealed groups of vulnerable people who are normally unseen. One of those groups, as noted, is students, especially those who live in rented or boarding houses near the campus, be they local or international. STF’s experience, in which more than a thousand students have been radically affected, has drawn public attention to the vulnerability of this group and raised the question of where support for them should come from. From the university? The government? And how should it be organized?

Another unseen and vulnerable sector is the healthcare sector. Covid-19 has uncovered the weakness of our health sector and the interrelationship between health and the economy. Large donations have been poured in to support public and private hospitals, including community health facilities and informal economy. Previously, it has been difficult to create awareness of the links between healthcare and the informal economy, in particular the vulnerability of workers unprotected by health insurance, and to ask philanthropy as well as government institutions to support programmes working on this. Reports in June from big Islamic philanthropy organizations show a move to address this concern. Even the state-based zakat organization without hesitation poured in funds to pay the insurance premiums for volunteers working on the National Task Force of the Covid-19. Previously, insurance was not a priority and STF’s advocacy work on community health and micro-insurance for lower income people (Bungkesmas programme) excited little interest among government and philanthropy organizations. Recently, however, we have received invitations to present to the National Body for Sharia Economy, and a request from national insurance company to continue their collaboration on the Bungkesmas programme.

A philanthropy institution based in a university? One of the impacts of Social Trust Fund’s programmes during the pandemic has been growing public awareness of the importance of universities in supporting the philanthropy sector, including through the establishment of an institution like ours. STF’s core work is charity, advocacy, research and endowment-building (CARE), under the banner of an independent foundation. Under this scheme, STF would not only be financially self-supporting to pursue its operational and philanthropy programmes around the country and beyond, but it could also support the university in a number of ways from scholarships to international research collaborations. Since the pandemic, STF has received invitations to discuss establishing similar philanthropy programmes and institutions from a number of Islamic universities in Indonesia. They have become aware that a philanthropy institution on the campus can at least support their own vulnerable students.

Changes In Faith-Based Giving

There is one final potentially major gain from the experience of Covid-19. Fear of the virus and the realization that it attacks Muslims and non-Muslims alike has created a sense of togetherness and a national movement. There has also been a tendency towards more rational, open and inclusive giving without discriminating against groups and religions. Many Islamic organizations have distributed support to hospitals (such as protective clothing, masks, and respirators) and have disinfected public offices, roads, residences, hospitals and places of worship. Lazismu is among the organizations that target not only mosques but also churches, temples and monasteries. The pandemic has helped the spread effective and inclusive giving and to command more support for it nationally.

From the pandemic, we have learned a lot as a small community foundation based within a university. Promoting social justice philanthropy means changing practice. We need strategies to convince our donors who are mostly from the community of the value of social justice philanthropy. We need to move from a ‘black-and-white’ position to one of ‘compromise-advocacy’ on social justice philanthropy. Organizations like ours have performed a sort of balancing act during the crisis, bringing together relief and broader social justice issues. The pandemic has raised awareness about the importance of philanthropy and an understanding of the need not only for charitable relief, but for long-term philanthropy and inclusive giving. This is something that I hope we will see continue to grow in the future.

Amelia Fauzia is Professor of Islamic History specializing in philanthropy at The Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta and Director of Social Trust Fund UIN Jakarta. http://www.psjp.org/learning-from-covid-19-pandemic-islamic-philanthropy-in-indonesia/