Educational program for cart drivers

BANDUNG: Mitra Mandiri Foundation, an affiliate of the United States-based United Way International in Indonesia, is sponsoring an educational program for school-aged horse cart drivers in Majalaya, West Java, near here.

Conducted by local non-governmental organization Institute of Community Development Information and Research (LEIMA), the project comprises 30 children who will undergo a one-year educational program. Upon completion, the participants will have completed the equivalent of a nine-year elementary education.

LEIMA will involve educational experts, community leaders and professionals as instructors.

At the opening ceremony for the program on Saturday, Mitra Mandiri chairwoman Ati W. Soekandar said their was a need to develop a sense of compassion among the more fortunate for less fortunate children.

Local community leaders and government officials attended the ceremony.

Established three years ago, the foundation currently is conducting five other social projects, including an educational program for children in the Jakarta slum area of Senen, the production of 180 talking book titles for blind children across the country and a development program to help handicapped children acquire life skills in the East Nusa Tenggara towns of Ruteng and Kupang.