MUHAMMADIYAH.OR.ID, SLEMAN – Muhammadiyah’s Central Board (PP Muhammadiyah), on Wednesday (21/01), officially opened the School for Community Empowerment Cadres (SEKAM), an initiative run by its Community Empowerment Council (MPM).
The program was inaugurated by Irwan Akib, Chairperson of Muhammadiyah Central Board, at the Center for the Development of Arts and Culture Vocational Education in Yogyakarta. He described SEKAM as a vital part of Muhammadiyah’s long-standing mission of enlightenment-based education.
Education, Akib said, is understood within Muhammadiyah as a process that nurtures God-consciousness while empowering, enlightening, and liberating society. In that context, SEKAM serves as an extension of that broader educational vision.
Participants in the 23rd cohort, he added, are expected to become agents of empowerment among marginalized groups, including farmers, fishermen, industrial workers, migrant laborers, and the urban poor.
Akib stressed that community empowerment must go beyond short-term assistance. Facilitators, he said, should not simply arrive, distribute aid, and leave. Instead, they must work toward lasting change rooted in local realities.
Such efforts, he noted, often require transforming deeply embedded traditions and maladaptive habits. Financial illiteracy remains one persistent challenge. “Many fishing communities, for example, lack financial planning,” he said. “Income earned at sea is often spent quickly, without long-term consideration.”
Because each community faces distinct challenges, Akib emphasized the need for tailored approaches with the communication skills and contextual understanding required for effective engagement.
Nurul Yamin, Chairperson of MPM PP Muhammadiyah, urged participants to become catalysts for change from within society itself. “Empowerment is about activating the potential that already exists in communities,” he said.
Still, Yamin cautioned that empowerment work is rarely straightforward. Field conditions are often complex, requiring flexible strategies. For that reason, SEKAM introduces participants to multiple approaches, including adult education methods adapted to local contexts, to ensure that empowerment efforts remain effective and sustainable.
