Today
Jakarta
- 31 °C
Other Publications
Group encouraging orphans to dream of a better future
Agnes Winarti , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Mon, 10/06/2008 9:58 AM | City
To encourage orphans from poor families to dream of a better future, the Islamic charity board Rumah Zakat Indonesia held a motivational workshop for 90 orphans from Greater Jakarta.
"I want to be a Math teacher because I really like the subject," said 15-year-old Dian Saraswati, who participated in the gathering last week.
Dian, who is currently studying accountancy at a state vocational school, lost her father two years ago due to illness.
From then on, the daughter of a washerwoman in Johar, Central Jakarta has become one of more than 2,000 children receiving scholarships from the Rumah Zakat.
Dian, like other recipients at various high schools, receives a Rp 100,000 (US$11) monthly scholarship.
A junior high school student gets a Rp 75,000 monthly scholarship, while an elementary student gets Rp 50,000 a month.
As the eldest of four siblings, Dian hopes to be able to complete her education soon, so as to help earn some income for her mother.
Dian has also set herself another ambitious target, that she will save part of her income to finance her studies to university level.
However, not all orphans are setting high hopes for themselves like Dian.
"My brother has dropped out of school at the moment. It is not because he is stupid or anything.
"But he just does not have the will to study at school," said Dian about her younger brother, who should have been studying at a junior high school.
"We have seen many orphans not going well in their studies because of feeling inferior among their peers," Rumah Zakat's education officer Ernawati told The Jakarta Post.
Ernawati, who is charged with overseeing 900 poor orphans through Rumah Zakat's office in East Jakarta, estimated that 10 percent of the orphans were failing at school.
"These orphans have usually lacked parental attention because the were raised by other members of their family. The same thing may happen to those with one surviving parent," said Ernawati, who has been working for four years at the Rumah Zakat.
"Only a few of them are burning with enthusiasm to study," said Ernawati.
"We want to help these children improve their life goals through the motivational training session in this event," said Ernawati about the high school student gathering held in conjunction with the school holidays to celebrate Idul Fitri.
Rumah Zakat has nine area offices around Jakarta, including in Jatinegara, Pasar Rebo and Pulo Gadung in East Jakarta, Koja and Cilincing in North Jakarta and Tebet in South Jakarta, as well as Johar, Gambir and Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta.
The Kembalikan Senyum Anak Bangsa (Return the smile of the nation's children) scholarships received by Dian and others have been provided by Rumah Zakat since 2001 in Jakarta and as far back as 1998 in Bandung, where the foundation was set up.
There are 12,000 orphans and poor children who are recipients of Rumah Zakat's donations. Last year, the foundation managed to collect Rp 50 billion from institutional and individual donors.
This year, the organization has already collected Rp 50 billion. It received Rp 9 billion in donations during the fasting month.
"Hopefully we will be able to collect Rp 100 billion by the end of this year," said Rumah Zakat Indonesia CEO, Virda Dimas Ekaputra.
