Freeport Indonesia Provides Nutritious Meals at Papua Boarding School
PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) is providing a nutritious meal programme for students through the management of the Taruna Papua Boarding School (SATP). The programme is one of the company’s social investments in the education sector, aimed at producing an excellent generation from Papua with guaranteed nutritional support.
PTFI President Director Tony Wenas explained that the first boarding school in Papua was designed with complete facilities, including the provision of high-standard meals. He stressed that in addition to a quality curriculum, meeting the students’ daily nutritional needs is a priority in supporting the physical growth and intelligence of the pupils.
“We review and also extend and intensify the education sector because education is very important. For example, the Taruna Papua Boarding School — it is not impossible that we will build another Taruna Papua boarding school, where they receive free nutritious meals five times a day,” he said in Tembagapura, Central Papua, in CNBC Indonesia’s Mining Zone programme.
The meal schedule at the school is carried out regularly, covering breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus two snacks per day. All kitchen operations are conducted independently within the school grounds to ensure the freshness of ingredients and the hygiene of the menu served.
“So morning, afternoon, evening and also two snacks. The kitchen is there as well, with quality control that we maintain. If I am not mistaken, the kitchen can serve more than 2,000 meals — perhaps around 3,000 meals — for both the students and the staff,” he added.
In addition to focusing on adequate nutrition, the boarding school also implements a ‘Merdeka Plus’ curriculum supported by expert teaching staff. The company has brought in native speakers directly from the United States to teach English to students from seven tribes in Mimika.
“The first boarding school in Papua with a Merdeka Plus curriculum and also with native speakers from abroad, from America, to teach English and other programmes,” he explained.
The provision of nutrition is one of Freeport Indonesia’s social investment commitments, which total US$100 million, or around Rp2 trillion, each year. The company aims to continue developing similar programmes to ensure that communities around its operational areas can grow together with the progress of the national mining industry.
“Because we believe — I believe — it is impossible for a company to survive amid a failing environment and community. So we must grow together with the community,” he concluded.