U.S.-based NGO helps poor students get better education<\/p>\n
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
It is really ironic here that many children do not go to school
\ndue to lack of funds or access. Yogyakarta has been renowned for
\na long time as Kota Pelajar (the city of students), meaning that
\nmany schools at all levels and students from throughout the
\ncountry are to be found here.<\/p>\n
Many people, too, are still campaigning on how to develop and
\nwiden access for children from the lower-income bracket to proper
\neducation, at least a basic education, through foster parenting
\napproaches or scholarship programs. A nonprofit group, Global
\nEducation Partnership (GEP), however, has stepped forward to
\ninitiate real projects to address the issue.<\/p>\n
The group tried to invite affected locals to seek solutions to
\ntheir problems.<\/p>\n
The group GEP, better known locally as Mitra Pendidikan Global
\n(MPG), has been working since 1999 to encourage people to
\nvoluntarily provide a significant financial contribution to poor
\nschools in remote areas of the province.<\/p>\n
Surprisingly, it succeeded in doing so, regardless of the fact
\nthat most of the people involved were from poor families.<\/p>\n
The group has helped some 179 schools in the dry, barren
\nregency of Gunungkidul to receive aid from local communities.<\/p>\n
Director of GEP's Indonesia Division Totok S. Wiryasaputra
\nsaid the key success of his organization in carrying out the
\nprograms lay with the partnership model that it had been
\napplying.<\/p>\n
Through the model, the group offers 50 percent of the total
\nfunds it needs to finance an agreed program, and the local
\ncommunity is required to collect the other half.<\/p>\n
Totok said such a model had deliberately been selected to
\ncreate a sense of ownership among students' parents that would
\nhopefully, in turn, guarantee the continuation of the program.
\nThat way, he said, the program would not exist only at the outset
\nbut would be sustainable for further development in the future.<\/p>\n
\"We've learned so far that even poor people have the
\ncapability to fund educational programs for their kids on their
\nown. What they need is simply a stimulus. The funds we have
\noffered in this instance are just such a stimulus,\" said Totok.<\/p>\n
Educational expert Mochtar Buchori once expressed strong
\nsupport for the program, arguing that in this particular time of
\ncrisis it was impossible to expect the government to meet all the
\ncountry's enormous educational expenses on its own.<\/p>\n
The community, Mochtar once said, should contribute according
\nto its financial capability. That way, the country could
\naccelerate improvements to the quality of education and catch up
\nwith other countries in the educational field.<\/p>\n
\"We have been very much left behind in the educational field.
\nUnless something is done about it, we shall always be the servant
\nof other countries,\" he said, reiterating the importance of
\ndeveloping human resources rather than merely exploiting the
\ncountry's rich natural resources.<\/p>\n
\"Singapore and Korea have nothing, but they are much more
\ndeveloped than we are because they have very good human
\nresources,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Based in Washington DC, GEP operates in the U.S., Guatemala,
\nTanzania, Kenya and Indonesia. The group is a humanitarian,
\nnonprofit, nonsectarian organization sponsored by the GE
\nFoundation, a social institution founded by the General Electric
\nCompany.<\/p>\n
It started its mission here in July 1999, following a
\nrecommendation from the Ministry of National Education, and is
\nstill in the process of registering itself with the State
\nSecretariat for official status as an international non-
\ngovernment organization in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"For the first four years to 2003, we were operating only in
\nGunungkidul. However, we have received requests from communities
\ninviting us to expand our operations in other regions. We are now
\noperating in the regencies of Sleman, Bantul and Kulonprogo, and
\nYogyakarta municipality as well,\" Totok said.<\/p>\n
It was to expand its area of operations that GEP also moved
\nits offices from Wonosari, Gunungkidul, to Jl. Beji 5,
\nYogyakarta.<\/p>\n
As the main sponsor, the GE Foundation provides annual funding
\nof US$ 75,000. Of the total operational funds that GEP spends, 20
\npercent usually comes from domestic donors.<\/p>\n
GEP was established with as its main objective the provision
\nof assistance to poor youths and students to have better access
\nto education. The group also offers two main programs, an
\nEducational Resource Development Program (ERDP) and the Youth
\nSelf-Reliance Training Program (YSTP).<\/p>\n
The first is carried out through cooperation with schools and
\ncommunities while the second is aimed at providing the young from
\npoor families a chance to engage in training, internship and
\ncourses.<\/p>\n
Totok said, \"Our vision is very simple. We want young people
\nfrom economically less fortunate families to have a chance to
\nbecome skilled and qualified workers so that they can improve the
\nquality of their lives.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-based-ngo-helps-poor-students-get-better-education-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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