Freeport gives scholarship

JAKARTA: PT Freeport Indonesia made donations Monday for three East Indonesian students to pursue masters degrees in the United States under the Fullbright scholarship.

The American mining company's funds are channeled through the non-governmental organization American-Indonesian Exchange Foundation, which also administers the Hubert H. Humphrey fellowship program in Indonesia.

The Freeport scholarships are worth US$60,000.

United States Ambassador to Indonesia J. Stapleton Roy said at the presentation that 22 Indonesian graduate students, professors and research scholars went to the United States and 17 American professors and graduate students either taught or undertook research in Indonesia with Fulbright support last year and this.

Freeport spokesman Edward J. Pressman said the company currently trains 300 Irianese, mostly secondary school students, through its scholarship programs that are part of its community development program.

Company's director and executive vice president Paul S. Murphy said that educational and loan programs were being established for Dayaks in East Kalimantan following Freeport being awarded a share of the Busang gold mine. He did not elaborate the time frame or the budget. (01)