Used goods give the needy hope

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Philanthropy has long been a part of Indonesian culture. People have always donated eagerly to help the poor or victims of natural disasters. The potential is huge for raising funds from the public for various charity programs. However, the lack of government support leaves a lot of funds untapped. This week's cover story highlights the issue.

"We'd need tons of money to go to another school, but here we pay nothing. The only obligation for students here is the requirement to study hard," says Angga Bastian.

His schoolmate Endah Setyaningsih likes studying at the school because she finds the teachers friendly.

Angga, 14, and Endah, 13, are students of SMP UTAMA junior high school, a free school for children of the poor.

While other schools charge millions of rupiah for admission, SMP UTAMA offers education for free. Just like regular schools, SMP UTAMA -- which stands for Unggul Tanpa Memungut Biaya (champion with no charge) -- has classrooms, one staff room, one library and one multifunction room.

"I don't know what I'd do if there was no free school like SMP UTAMA," said Endah, who was abandoned by her parents and has no idea where they are.

Endah lives with her grandmother in a modest house about one hour's walk from the school.

Both children can envision a better future thanks to a charitable organization.

There are millions of destitute children in the country who have no access to a good education and are forced to live on charity. Under the Constitution, the state is responsible for orphans or disadvantaged children. However, the state appears to be unable to rise to the challenge for a number of reasons, such as a lack of financial resources and the corrupt attitude of its officials.

But if the government were to promote charitable causes, members of the public could help those less fortunate.

Endah and Angga are able to go to school thanks to Imdad Mustadh'afin Foundation (Yasmin), a social foundation focusing on education and health for the poor, which owns SMP UTAMA.

Unlike many other foundations that rely on foreign donors, Yasmin is one of the few organizations that relies on domestic sources to raise money.

The foundation not only collects donations, but also raises money through its business unit Toko Barbeku, whose core business is selling used articles.

Unlike other shops that sell brand new products, Barbeku trades in used articles. Barbeku stands for barang bekas berkualitas, which literally means "quality used articles".

"Besides from donors, our foundation Yasmin gets income from this shop. The shop is one of our main financial resources," Yasmin program manager Setiyo Iswoyo told the Post.

Started in 1998, Yasmin was set up to help improve the quality of education, which was highly affected by the 1997/1998 economic crisis.

Toko Barbeku has three models of business. It sells goods from donors, facilitates anyone who wants to sell articles for a fee and practices pure business.

With sales in 2000 reaching Rp 1.2 billion, the non- governmental organization Public Interest Research Advocacy Center (PIRAC) listed the foundation among 18 social organizations that can self-finance their operations.

Other organizations include Mitra Mandiri and Dompet Dhuafa Republika (Jakarta), Setia Bhakti Wanita (Surabaya), Pancur Kasih (Pontianak), Al Falah (Surabaya), Dharma Wulan (Jakarta), Tongku Situru (Toraja) and Daarut Tauhid (Bandung).

Today, Yasmin sponsors about 200 children from poor families to attend elementary and secondary school.

The foundation not only sponsors poor students, but also tries to improve the quality of teachers, school facilities and the curriculum.

"We will soon open a clinic for autistic children. This will also serve destitute families," Iswoyo added.

Although all the students at the school come from poor families, which are stereotyped as lacking discipline, the school says most of them are well behaved.

"For example, there have been no reports of smoking among our students. We tell students to always arrive on time and to keep the school clean," school principal Nurhasanah told The Jakarta Post, adding that the school also encourages students to develop skills through extra lessons on music, sports and craft after class.

While the quality of free schools is generally considered low, SMP UTAMA's quality is apparently not bad. The students also take pride in the fact that scouts from the school won first prize in a competition in Limo, a district in Depok.