Unfortunately, many children still lack basic rights to this day, such as access to proper health and education.

The 2023 UNICEF Annual Report noted that more than 500,000 Indonesian children have not received basic immunizations. In addition, the same report stated that one in five toddlers in Indonesia experiences stunting, which is a major problem in child nutrition issues.

Data from the Health Ministry released in early 2024 stated that more than 1.8 million children in Indonesia have not received a single dose of immunization, which is an accumulation from the 2011 to 2023 period. In 2023, the number of children who did not receive immunization increased by around 500,000.

Immunization is a major concern for APRIL Group, a pulp and paper producer operating in Pangkalan Kerinci, Riau. Through its long-term commitment in the APRIL2030 vision, the company supports the government’s efforts in achieving the 2030 sustainable development goals (SDGs) by increasing access to health services and reducing the prevalence of stunting by 50 percent in villages around its operational areas in Riau along with supporting quality education.

The commitment was emphasized through social service activities that took place as part of the RGE Founder's Day 2024 series of events at the Pelalawan Estate, Riau Province, on Nov. 30.

During the event, APRIL provided assistance in the form of immunization and supplementary food (PMT) to children and families of contractors working in the concession area of APRIL and its partners. Previously, similar activities were routinely carried out but were limited to children of APRIL workers.

The RGE Founder’s Day 2024 activity is a follow-up to APRIL’s Human Rights Policy, which was launched in 2022. As part of its commitment, APRIL conducted a Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) in September 2022, which identified two important issues, namely child protection and potential child labor.

“The company is committed to providing access to health and education to all workers and their families by upholding the “No Child Left Behind” principle. Through this activity, we are expanding this commitment by involving contractors and their families,” said Inra Gunawan, Legal Compliance, Conservation and Human Rights Head of RAPP, APRIL’s operational unit.

Immunization and provision of additional food

One of the main activities in the RGE Founder's Day 2024 series of events is complete basic immunization for children aged zero to two years old, an important step considering the large number of children who live in areas far from health facilities.

To ensure that children in all APRIL operational areas receive timely immunization, simultaneous catchup immunizations were carried out in 27 estates in Riau, with an aim to provide equal access to health services for all children.

In addition to immunization, the activities include the provision of additional food (PMT) to prevent stunting and malnutrition in children aged 0 to 5 years, which is expected to support the efforts to control stunting in Riau Province.

In addition, this year’s Founder's Day series of activities inaugurated the construction of a daycare center for the Pelalawan North estate. The construction of the daycare center aims to provide a safe place of care for workers' children when their parents are working in the concession area.

As of 2024, APRIL has built three permanent daycare centers, seven mobile daycare centers and seven mobile classrooms spread across several APRIL estates, including Pelalawan, Teso, Pulau Padang, Meranti and partners.

The Pelalawan Regency Health Office expressed its appreciation for APRIL’s contribution to increasing immunization achievements, as well as preventing and controlling stunting in Riau Province.

"The Pelalawan Regency government, in this case the Health Office, greatly appreciates RAPP which at the RGE Founder's Day activity held immunizations for children of contractors who had not been immunized. This action will certainly increase the achievement of immunization in Riau Province. PMT was also provided, which is very good for preventing malnutrition and stunting," said Drg. Aulia Rachman Khalid, Head of the Pelalawan Health Office’s P2P Division.

Support for education

In addition to building daycare centers, APRIL also supports the compulsory education program for children aged 6 to 15 years by establishing non-formal schools with certificates to provide access to basic education before students continue their formal education at a higher level.

The 2024 Founder's Day activity was marked by the inauguration of the SMP Global Andalan boarding school (remote classroom) for children of contractors in the company's operational area. The boarding system provides an opportunity for the children to continue their formal education without worrying about the distance between their homes and school.

"If there was no boarding school, I would have difficulty getting to the school location because it is far from home and difficult to access, about 40 minutes by speedboat then continued by bus," said Rain Jerrih Nababan, one of the students.

Rain explained that the facilities provided were able to support his daily learning activities while also providing life skills that train students to be more independent, such as gardening, raising fish and cooking.

In the future, Rain hopes that the company's assistance can realize his dream of receiving higher education and working as an employee of RAPP.

Through this junior high school boarding program, APRIL plans to direct students to continue their education at forestry and agricultural schools, which will ultimately support the creation of sustainable education for the children of contractors who have contributed to APRIL's operations.

This entire series of activities is part of the APRIL2030 sustainability commitment’s Inclusive Progress pillar, which aims to empower communities through transformative initiatives, including supporting quality education around its operational areas to build a better future.

This article was published in collaboration with APRIL Group.