Companies offer helping hand to needy students

Companies offer helping hand to needy students

Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

While Indonesia's poor level of education is under the spotlight
of the international community, it is a relief to know that many
private companies are taking part in providing scholarships and
other facilities for children from poor families.

A recent survey by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) showed
that some 67 percent of 53 million school-aged children could not
continue with their studies due to poverty, or their parents'
lack of awareness of the benefits of education.

In Jakarta alone, around 1.5 million people are estimated to
be disadvantaged based on their lack of access to education and
health services. It was only recently the City Council mulled
doubling the funds for schemes to assist the poor.

The government itself, for its part, has not yet allotted the
stipulated 20 percent of the budget as regulated in the
Constitution to support its own program of making elementary and
junior high school education compulsory.

"It is our social responsibility to the public. We hope it can
help the students in their studies," Mitra Mandiri Foundation
director, Gino Latief, said on Saturday, while handing over a
donation of school stationary from oil company ExxonMobil to some
600 students of the SDN 3, 5 and 7 state elementary schools in
Gandaria Utara, South Jakarta.

Gino explained that the event was the last of a series of
donations this year by the company, for some 3,000 students from
16 state elementary schools throughout Greater Jakarta. The
company has also been providing scholarships since 1999 for
students in its main area of operations in Jakarta, Cepu in
Central Java, and Lhoksukon in Aceh.

Each of the students accepted a package of a backpack with
three notebooks, a drawing book and a pencil case.

"I now have a new backpack to go to school with. I really like
it," said Indah, a second grader of SDN 3.

SDN 7 principal Bagyo and SDN 5 principal Kodrat Hidayat said
they appreciated the donation, and expressing hope to get book
donations, even used ones, for the students and the schools'
libraries.

Also in the day, the Sampoerna Foundation donated school
stationery as well as English course books and dictionaries to
students of the Kartini Free Provisional Schools.

The Kartini schools, all located under the bridges in
depressed areas of the city, are accredited, tuition-free schools
funded and managed by twin sisters Sri Rossiati and Sri
Irianingsih, who also run the renowned Kartini Free Health Clinic
for the poor.

The schools currently provide free education from kindergarten
to junior high school level to a total of 1,925 poor children.

Sapto Handoyo Sakti, Sampoerna Foundation's marketing and
communications director, said that the foundation also planned to
engage its scholars as volunteer tutors at the schools. "We want
our scholars not only to be academically astute, but also to have
the empathy and social conscience to share with others and
contribute to the public."

Twins Rossi and Rian welcomed the foundation's donations and
hoped that other private firms would do the same, although they
said they would still be able to cover the schools' operational
costs by themselves.

The Sampoerna foundation currently provides scholarships to a
total of 9,110 students in 1,479 high schools throughout the
country. It has also provided 1,000 scholarships to junior high
school students since June this year. Meanwhile, some 170
undergraduate and post graduate university students are also
enlisted as its scholars.