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Foundation donates books, multimedia facilities
Ali Ridho Nugroho, a student at SMA 1 state senior high school in Pandaan, Pasuruan, East Java, said he often read books on wood carving and furniture, with the hopes of creating designs for handicraft makers in his neighborhood
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li Ridho Nugroho, a student at SMA 1 state senior high school in Pandaan, Pasuruan, East Java, said he often read books on wood carving and furniture, with the hopes of creating designs for handicraft makers in his neighborhood.
"Besides reading romance novels, I also like to read books on marketing and furniture because my area is famous for its furniture industry," the 16-year-old said Tuesday.
In addition to its embroidery craft in Bangil and fishery products, Pasuruan is well-known for its furniture industry located in the Winongan district. Of the 17,496 small and medium enterprises (SME) in Pasuraun, almost 60 percent are in the furniture sector. However, due to the global financial downturn and the hot mudflow in Porong, Sidoarjo, which has cut off the Surabaya-Pasuruan highway, only 54 SMEs currently exist, despite the fact the SMEs have been able to employ 91,648 people in Pasuruan.
"By reading books on business and furniture, I wish to figure out how to revive woodcarving in Pasuruan. I want to create unique and attractive furniture designs that can penetrate the export market," Ali said.
Ali's school is one of four schools that received books and multimedia facilities donated by the Sampoerna Foundation. The other three schools are SMA 10 in Malang, SMA 1 Pundong and SMA 20 Surabaya senior high schools.
The assistance is expected to cover the book collections at the respective libraries because, based on data from the National Education Ministry in 2006/2007, 34 percent of, or 5,514 senior high schools in Indonesia were not equipped with libraries.
Program and Alumni Affairs Director of the foundation Eddy Henry said the assistance in the form of library books and facilities would be continued in a number of schools in Indonesia so students could enhance their knowledge and creativity.
"This is representative of our concern toward education. The schools we have assisted will receive additional book collections, and students in the four schools will also benefit from free Internet service," Henry told The Jakarta Post.
