YPMAK Continues to Support Education Access for Amungme-Kamoro Children

The Amungme and Kamoro Community Empowerment Foundation (YPMAK), which manages the partnership funds of PT Freeport Indonesia, is committed to continuing its support for improving education access for indigenous Papuan children from the Amungme and Kamoro tribes and five kinship tribes in Mimika Regency. During a hearing with Commission III of the Mimika Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) on Wednesday, YPMAK Chairman Leonardus Tumuka stated that although the allocation of funds managed by YPMAK has decreased quite significantly this year, the scholarship programme and provision of educational assistance for pupils and university students are still running. “We were invited to conduct a hearing with the Mimika DPRD regarding the wishes of our younger siblings who are members of the Mimika Student Alliance to obtain scholarships and educational assistance. They have a desire to go to school, and that is certainly a shared concern for all of us, including the local government, PTFI, and YPMAK,” said Leonardus. He noted that there are currently 4,386 Amungme-Kamoro pupils and students, along with those from five kinship tribes from Mimika Regency, receiving educational assistance and scholarships from YPMAK. They are spread across various study cities in Indonesia, from primary school to higher education levels. Specifically for this year, according to Leonardus, YPMAK has opened a scholarship quota for 15 prospective students who will continue their studies at UPN Veteran Yogyakarta and has also opened 156 merit-based scholarship opportunities for graduates accepted at state universities. Leonardus said that additional scholarship quotas beyond that number cannot yet be accommodated because they must adjust to the institution’s budget capacity. “If we force a budget increase in one area, it will impact other programmes that must also continue to run,” he said. He added that this process is necessary so that jointly developed programmes can run in a measurable, targeted, and sustainable manner. YPMAK Vice Chairman Feri Magai Uamang added that this year YPMAK cannot recruit new participants for the education assistance programme due to limited budget allocations from PTFI, a consequence of the landslide incident in the Tembagapura underground mine area in September 2025. “For now, we are unable to recruit new participants. The current number of 4,300 people is what we are funding, and even their budget has been partially cut,” said Feri. Under these conditions, he said, if there are proposals or requests for additional education assistance quotas for new high school or vocational school graduates to attend university this year, they cannot be accommodated. “Some time ago, when the students conveyed their aspirations at the YPMAK office, we explained this. The only opportunity is for 15 students who pass the selection for UPN Veteran Yogyakarta. Around 190 participants took the test, and the 15 best will be selected, with results to be announced this week,” Feri said.