President Jokowi: Blood Donors are Humanitarian Activists

Photo caption: President Jokowi bestowed Satya Lencana honorary medal for Social Services to the blood donors, at the Presidential Palace Bogor, on Friday (17/12) morning

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo conferred awards expressed gratitute to blood donors who were voluntary donate their blood for 100 times.

The President appraised their priceless actions and said that they deserve to be acknowledged as humanitarian activists.

 “Your presence at this event affirm the importance of fraternity to all of us, as well as to affirm the meaning of solidarity and compassion for others, and to reaffirm the meaning of social solidarity,” President Jokowi said in the bestowal event of Satya Lencana for Social Services for Blood Donors Who Voluntary Donate 100 Times, at the Presidential Palace Bogor on Friday (17/12) morning.

President Jokowi also called on the nation to follow the good deeds of those blood donors because through blood, we can donate something really valuable for the lives of others who need it.

 The Government, the President added, realized that to provide a safe and good-quality service of blood supply requires a great support from the people.

 Therefore, President Jokowi hopes national blood donor movement which was founded at the event of the National Solidarity Day in 2007, in Medan, and has been promoted and campaigned to the people on a larger scale, could encourage other humanitarian actions which move from villages to cities.

 On that occasion, President Jokowi asserted the importance to reactualize the values of solidarity and compassion for others, which always been emerged when disaster occured, including tsunami, volcanic eruption, flood, and others.

 According to the President, it is a good thing that need to be carried out and spread so that it will not only emerge in a disaster but also in a daily lives. One of the action is through a blood donor program.

 “Through blood donor program, the people are motivated to empathize, to have tolerance for others, in which become the parts of national solidarity values,” the President said.

 The President also gave appreciation and award for the involvement of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) in several humanitarian actions, including in the search and news delivery of missing relatives, society health services, blood transfusion, and coaching to teenagers and volunteers.

 “I particularly ask PMI to strengthen education on the matters relating red cross and education on humanitarian values to the young generation, mainly to teenagers,” the President added.

 Attending the event were Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Puan Maharani, Minister of Health Nila Moeloek, Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Planning/the Heads of the National Land Agency (BPN) Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, Presidential Chief of Staffs Teten Masduki, and Indonesian National Police Chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti.  (DID/AJAY/ES) (RAS/EP/YM/Naster)