The cost of education prohibits many Indonesian families from keeping their children in school. The consequences are obvious for not only the individual child but for the nation as a whole. YUM has three forms of child sponsorships; each designed to provide children from poor families with the opportunity to continue their formal education.
YUM provides school sponsorships for children between the ages of 6 and 18 in Jakarta, in Cipanas, West Java and in Central Kalimantan. A school sponsorship provides families with financial support to cover the cost of a child?s schoolbooks, equipment, uniform and fees at a local school.
For information on sponsoring a child, please click here
Families of sponsored children are regularly visited by a YUM social worker and are required to demonstrate a commitment to education through their children's regular school attendance and satisfactory results.
A Children's Village sponsorship covers the cost of a child's living expenses at the YUM Children's Village and their education at local government schools. All children who reside at the Village receive food, healthcare, clothing and shelter along with the support and assistance of the Villages' professional staff.
The orphanage is home to more than 50 school-aged children from across West Java.
The Talent Development Scholarships program offers intelligent, young Indonesians from underprivleged families with the opportunity to receive a university education. The scholarships cover the recipients' education and living costs for the duration of their course.
At the completion of his or her university studies, each scholarship recipient will undertake a two-year internship with a YUM, providing the young adult with valuable experience and YUM with access to quality human resources.
The high cost of university education means that YUM is only able to provide a limited number of scholarships and competition for these is very strong. With the support of donors, YUM aims to increase this size of this program in the future and offer more young Indonesians the opportunity to attend university.
The Children's Village provides children from destitute families with a safe, stable and caring environment in which to live and receive an education. Located in the hills of West Java, about two hours drive from Jakarta; the Village is home to more than 50 school-aged children at any one time.
The Village is focused on providing the children with skills and values that will carry them through life. Along with formal education at local government schools, children are involved in a range of extra-curricular activities. These activities include vocational training, sports, music and language lessons.
Our Child Sponsorships & Scholarships program provides funding support for the children to live at the village. The sponsorships cover the cost of all food, clothing, medical, housing and education expenses.
The Village also aims to support the local community in which it operates. This is done through engaging local men, women and children in the Villages' learning and activities.
The Village sponsors children who live in the region to go to school, provides vocational training to local women, trades goods and services with local vendors and regularly opens it's facilities to the local community. This serves in not only supporting the local community but also teaches children about the importance of a strong community and how by supporting one another, goals can be achieved.
YUM's School Sponsorship Project continues to deliver life-changing opportunities for many children throughout Jakarta, West Java and Central Kalimantan. With over 150 children aged between 6-16 years old being sponsored, YUM aims to help develop the intellectual capacity of Indonesia's future generations.
"I have been sponsored to go to school for two whole years now! And it has been a great help for me and my family because, where I go to school, we are still asked to pay monthly school fees. School is not free for me and so I am happy that the person sponsoring me is really generous and cares for me! Thank you very much! With out your help, I don't know what's going to happen to me. I like going to school..."
Muhammad Masir (An Elementary student)
The sponsorship money has been used to buy all my school stationeries and books. Before this, it was very difficult for my parents to buy me all the things needed for class such as coloring pencils for art class and all that. I had to always borrow from my friends. I really like to draw. Now I can do it all the time"
Untung Setiawan (A Junior High school student)/p>
"I want to make something of myself and become really sucsessful so that one day, I too am able to provide help for children like me to go to school. The sponsorship money provided have lifted a huge burden off my mother's shoulders!! It has helped out my family so much as I have two other brothers who are also in school."
Zachfiah Subaya (A High school student)
YUM's Talent Development Scholarship (TDS) Project continues to support young adults in their pursuit of further education qualifications from College to University and even Vocational Training. Funded by the Muhammad Subuh Foundation (MSF), YUM continues its support to three exceptional young Indonesians based in Jakarta, West Java and Kalimantan.
"I hope to later continue my studies to obtain a Bachelors degree in IT, which would perfect my current study in Management Informatics. I hope that the TDS project will continue on and provide this very amazing chance for other capable Indonesian youths held back because of the situation they were born into, poverty."
Adi Firdaus, aged 21, studying Management Informatics in West Java
"I would like to sincerely thank YUM for giving me this great opportunity, enabling me to study at the STIKES Suaka Insan, Banjarmasin. I have always wanted to become a Nurse and work as best I can to help others."
Rilida Yuliwulani (right), aged 21, studying Nursing in Kalimantan
"I'm so glad that so far Uni and my work at YUM are running in harmony. Both are supporting each other in some way, which is such a blessing as it was my intention when taking this subject that it would support and improve my capacity to dedicate myself to YUM as their Domestic Fundraising and Communication Officer."
Melani (right), studying Public Relations in Jakarta)
Have you ever skipped a day of school? Knowing fully how much your parents invested in your education? Under the guidance of Yayasan Usaha Mulia (YUM), we have learnt that some brilliant children, scoring more than 20 points above average, are struggling to continue their education due to the poor economic conditions, which they were born into. This has been the highlight of my eye-opening summer experience interning with YUM in Jakarta, under the Freeman Indonesia Nonprofit Internship Program 2010, an opportunity, like no others, provided by the International Institute of Education.
Having spent half of my life in Indonesia, I understand that poverty is heavily concentrated among those with little or no formal education. According to recent reports, more than half of Indonesians live with less than $2 per day, and we all know that this is hardly enough for them to get by, and therefore leaving education as the least of their worries. Having spent the other half of my life studying overseas, my next question is, naturally, what is the government doing to help these people? Before even thinking about the answer, just by looking around in Jakarta, I realized that the Indonesian government has so many problems on its hands, such as, a problematic democratic system, controversial government policies, troublesome governmental departments, corruption, and many others.
In high-income countries, like Singapore, the United States, and the EU, scholarships and financial aids exist to ensure that everyone has the same opportunity to pursue higher education. In Indonesia, on the other hand, education is not even one of the top three priorities of the government. Therefore, the activities that non-governmental organizations, like YUM carry out (be it in Community Development, Education, or Health), play a great role in breaking the cycle of poverty.
I believe that through its various programs to educate the younger generation of Indonesia, YUM will be able to improve their standard of living and hence, help to reduce the level of poverty in Indonesia. However, YUM will not be able to do this alone: it needs your support so that, together, a better future for Indonesian children will be possible.
Sponsor a child to go to school!
Elementary Level
With only Rp. 1,500,000 you will provide a child with the opportunity to continue going to school!
Junior and Senior High school Level
With only Rp. 2,500,000 you will provide a child with the opportunity to continue going to school!
Your sponsorship will cover the costs related to schooling such as monthly school fees, books, uniforms, and other school related activities such as extra –curricular, as well as Bi-annual Health Check Ups.
Support a child by sponsoring his/her education today!
Contributed by:
Andre Sutanto, YUM Summer Intern, 2010
