October update: The building of the Community Learning Centre is progressing very well. We are currently aiming to open in February and will transfer the students from their temporary location to the new permanent one. We are also planning to fully support the 2024 intake of scholarship students and are currently fundraising to achieve this goal. One scholarship covers 3 years of senior high school including additional activities such as English and computer classes organised from the community centre. Additionally, psychologists and other coaches are available for the students to support them in developing their career plan and teaching the students about self worth. Most students that participate in the scholarship don't have the means to finish their senior high school period and often join their parents in low-skilled and paid jobs. Furthermore, a large number of girls in this area gets married from the age of 12 on and by the time they could have started university, are giving birth to their fourth child. The program at the CLC's aims to change the life outcomes of these children and teaches them the value of education and all the opportunities that come with that, whilst maintaining their cultural values. So far, without any exceptions, all scholarship students that joined one of the Community Learning Centres have gone to university and earn on average 1000x more than their parents do. All teachers and staff of the program life by one important aspiration: education is not a privilege, but a right.
Titian Foundation is a professionally managed, voluntary organization that focuses on helping less fortunate Indonesians through the improvement of their education, knowledge, and skills. Yayasan Titian Masa Depan was established by Lily Kasoem in 2006. She was the catalyst behind the USD 1.6 million project to rebuild Lamreh Village in Aceh that was destroyed in the 2004 tsunami. The TitianFoundation’s work is centered around a core belief in the importance of education, for young people through access to proper schooling and for communities through community empowerment.
North-Lombok was hit by an earthquake on 05 August 2018. The earthquake killed and injured many people, destroyed many family homes, schools, businesses including a lot of infrastructure such as wells and power supplies. Many people had to live in temporary accommodation involving tents and makeshifts houses.
The Titian Foundation helped the local community around Pemenang, North Lombok, by providing temporary help and manpower to assist. It was during this process that the Titian Foundation realized that the vast majority of the students had had their education come to a grinding halt along with their aspirations of going onto a useful career, continuing their education either into Hospitality/Tourism or going to university.
Titian decided to set up a temporary community learning center (CLC) close to the area that had been most affected by the disaster. This was initially in an annex of one the local high schools. Now, Titian wants to make this temporary CLC permanent. The community center currently supports 80 students and aims to be able to assist up to 120 students by the end of the first 3 years.
Titian’s CLC’s are centers open to all in the community that function as communal library and act as a place to conduct workshops and educational programs that benefit multiple groups in the community. CLC activities include but are not limited to:
· Running classes and workshops on a wide range of topics like hygiene and sanitation, literacy, sewing and embroidery, English and start-up entrepreneurship.
· Facilitating the social work of ROTA and other volunteers in schools and communities and the social work of the Titian Scholarship and Titian Scholarship Alumni Association.
· Providing trainers to encourage the learning of activities that represent the areas cultural heritage. This includes traditional music, traditional dance. And the weaving of traditional fabrics.
Within the area covered by the Pemenang center, there are currently 80 students receiving a three-year Titian Foundation Scholarships. The scholarship program targets underprivileged children who have qualified for further education (senior high school), but who would not normally be able to continue their studies. The students enroll for the Titian program and after being accepted to the program after a selection period, will receive a scholarship for senior (vocational)high school. The scholarship covers the joining fee to a school of the student’s choice, three years of school fees, books, and school uniforms.
Close monitoring and an assistance program are run alongside the scholarship program. A dedicated team provides the dual function of mentor and supervisor to follow the students’ progress during the program. These mentors also regularly consult with teachers, visit the students’ homes to talk with and encourage parents to support their children and hold student get-togethers to forge a strong social bond among them. The program hereby offers a form of ongoing support and encouragement for these students to reach their dreams. The CLC that will be developed within the scope of this project is a crucial element of the scholarship program.
Previously, in partnership with Laut Biru, we have supported communities in North Lombok (Sokong) in their transition to hybrid education after the COVID-19 pandemic hit their already destroyed by the 2018 earthquake communities. We did so by providing the national curriculum and interactive education kits in a backpack. Similar to the target audience of Titian’s ongoing programs in North Lombok, our program targeted communities that were significantly affected by the vast devastation that followed the 2018 earthquake. Both communities were subsequently faced with the effects of COVID-19, worsening the already bad connectivity. The entire community around the SDN 1 Sokong will be able to freely access the Titian CLC and efforts will be made to make it as accessible as possible for them (e.g., we will inquire into the possibility of arranging easy travel options). Moreover, we intend to create a synergy between the projects to allow our community in Sokong to benefit.