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Indonesia deemed most generous country, charity director explains why

Source
Tempo - January 3, 2022

Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia is ranked 82nd out of 149 countries in the 2018-2019 World Happiness Report but this year, has been ranked by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) in the World Giving Index 2021 as the most generous country.

"Indonesian people's generosity is a valuable asset that must be managed well, the asset must be preserved, even under a pandemic as current times. Isn't this a delightful fact for Indonesia?" said Dompet Dhuafa Foundation Director of empowerment and economic development Doni Marlan, Antaranews reported.

Marlan argues that social and humanitarian activities lead to the feeling of happiness and cited a National Institutes of Health research by Jorge Moll and associates. The study found that donating to charity, not just for personal consumption, can activate areas of the brain associated with pleasure so as to create more positive feelings.

He mentions similar acts of kindness from a religious point of view such as waqf and zakat in the Islamic teaching, which is sharing and donating.

"Even in Indonesia itself, religion and gotong royong (mutual assistance) have become the main values and culture in society," he said.

"Moving from the past conventionally to the current millennial era. If donations in the past were limited to sharing such as infaq and alms through donation boxes, now innovation and technology are the main keys that help donations be greatly impactful," he said.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1545927/indonesia-deemed-most-generous-country-charity-director-explains-wh

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