Used goods give the needy hope

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.