FIRST LADY : TUNGGADEWI FOUNDATION UNRELATED TO 'CIKEAS OCTOPUS'

Bogor, March 25 (ANTARA) - First Lady Ani Yudhoyono said the Tuggadewi Foundation, spearheaded by her daughter-in-law Annisa Pohan, was not what George Adi Tjondro had said in his book, Gurita Cikeas (Cikeas Octopus).

"When a name was to be chosen for the foundation, Annisa's daughter, Almira Tunggadewi, passed by, so we decided to name the foundation after Tunggadewi," the first lady said at a function to dedicate a "Cikeas Smart House" in Bogor on Thursday.

The smart house was built and managed by Tunggadewi Foundation which was founded by Anisa Pohan and ten of her female friends.

"So it has nothing to do with the 'Gurita Cikeas' issue, because it was purely the result of an idea from the young women who wanted to smarten the nation through education and to improve people's welfare. So, the smart house in one of their projects," Ani Yudhoyono said.

In the company of Ani Herawati Boediono (the wife of Vice President Boediono), Bogor district head Rachmant Yasin, a number of United Indonesia Cabinet Ministers' Wives Solidarity (SIKIB) members, and Tunggadewi Foundation deputy chairperson Alia Rajasa, the first lady put her signature on a plaque to mark the dedication of the smart house.

The Cikeas Smart House, built on a 1,512-square-meter plot of land, is the sixth of its kind in Bogor district and the 132nd across the country.

In her address, First Lady Ani Yudhoyono expressed hope that the existence of Cikeas Smart House, located some 500 meters from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's private Puri Cikeas home, would support the reading interest of the children and improve the skills of the women at the neighborhood.

Speaking about the advantages of the smart house, Tunggadewi Foundation deputy chairperson Aliya Rajasa explained that it had books, stationery, audio visual, computer centers for children, skill center for women and others centers.

Aliya also explained that the mission of Cikeas Smart House was to help reduce illiteracy by providing the children with moral education and training in various skills.