Cutters, used cans, used drink boxes and gun glue tools are spread across the desks of the third grade students of Amaliyah Private Islamic Elementary School (MIS) in Siantar Martoba, Pematangsiantar city in North Sumatra, as the students concentrate on making otok-otok boat toys with the materials.

The boats may be made of old bottles and cans, but they are still able to float and glide on water smoothly. More importantly, these very boats are teaching the students energy concepts and creativity in a fun way, with student Muhammad Asrof’s group shouting excitedly after being the first in the class to succeed in getting their otok-otok boats to float.

“The inspiration to encourage my students to make these boat toys came from when I was walking in the night market. I thought that traditional toys can be used to explain science lessons, especially motion energy,”

Ramadahan, the school’s third grade teacher, and former Tanoto Foundation training participant.

Science lessons and concepts would be more difficult for the students to understand without such learning aids, he explained. In addition, they are also useful in training the students’ fine motor skills and in improving their imagination.

Such use of boat toys in lessons is one form of the active learning method which is highly advocated by Tanoto Foundation, with the belief that teachers and students are able to create various kinds of media which will be effective in helping students to learn a subject.

Tanoto Foundation disseminates good learning and teaching practices through its PINTAR program. Under this program, Tanoto Foundation has several active learning modules which can be assessed by teachers in Indonesia, both online and offline.

Tanoto Foundation also conducts teacher training in various districts and cities across the country, with the expectation that training participants will go on to share the knowledge with their fellow teachers in cluster schools around them.

So far, PINTAR training has taken place in five provinces and 14 districts, reaching 436 elementary and junior high schools.

It is hoped that through PINTAR, more schools will benefit from interesting, relevant and effective active learning methods, especially in the science, mathematics and literacy fields.

For 25-year-old Muhammad Fakhruzzaman, hard work has always been key to building a career at a world-class international company.

A former Tanoto Scholar and graduate of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Fakhruzzaman is currently thriving as an electrical engineer at Schlumberger, the world’s largest oil services company.

Fakhruzzaman, or Fakhruz for short, chose to enter the Electrical Engineering Department at his university in 2011, based primarily on his fondness for Physics.

With high school report cards boasting impressive scores, Fakhruz also became a successful recipient of the Tanoto Foundation scholarship that same year.

“I was happy, but also thought of it a challenge. I was happy because I received full financial support in terms of my school fees and monthly allowance, but the challenge laid in how I had to maintain or even improve my academic performance,” Fakhruz.

As Tanoto Scholars have to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.25 to keep their scholarships, Fakhruz was motivated to continue studying hard while targeting the maximum GPA.

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Fakhruz’s efforts proved to be valuable when an exciting opportunity came along. Schlumberger, his dream company, launched an internship program.

The company had a strict selection process even for students to carry out internships, but Fahruz, who was then in his fourth semester at university, was determined to apply.

“The selection process is almost the same as the recruitment process of an actual employee – there is just one difference, the interview with a manager stage. A high GPA is a major consideration for companies in choosing interns because this is considered as a showcase of responsibility,” Fakhruz.

With a 3.8 GPA (out of a maximum of 4), Fakhruz was accepted as an intern at Schlumberger, and underwent training in Balikpapan in East Kalimantan for a month.

The internship was a new experience for him, as the majority of Schlumberger employees are expatriates which meant that the work environment required the use of English in daily communication, which was not something Fakhruz was used to yet.

Although he was nervous at first, Fakhruz improved his communication skills and the internship opportunity allowed him to also develop other skills. On his days off on Saturdays and Sundays, Fahruz stayed in and worked to master the technical work required as part of his internship duties.

At the end of the internship, Fakhruz’s hard work paid off when he received a positive response from Schlumberger management, and he was recommended to be hired full-time.

Now, Fakhruz proudly works on various Schlumberger projects throughout Asian and European countries, as well as in America.

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As for those wishing to also join the company, Fakhruz urges them to not underestimate the power of hard work and determination.

Tanoto Foundation recently dedicated a philanthropic donation of SGD 3 million towards the establishment of the Tanoto Foundation Centre for Child and Maternal Health Programmes (TF Centre for CHaMP) in Singapore.

The centre, which will be part of the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH), allows the hospital the opportunity to be a leader in early childhood and maternal health.

This latest gift is part of Tanoto Foundation’s ongoing commitment to support medical research and science on diseases which are prevalent in Asia.

At the 160th KKH Anniversary Dinner, Imelda Tanoto, Member of the Tanoto Foundation Board of Trustees and Bey Soo Khiang, Executive Advisor at Tanoto Foundation presented the cheque for the donation on-stage in the presence of KKH and SingHealth leaders, as well as Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister, Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

The TF Centre for CHaMP gives KKH the impetus to pull together various new projects and initiatives which will determine future health benefits for early child health and maternal health.

Research in early childhood and maternal health will be the focus of the TF Centre for CHaMP, to understand how KKH can better manage the best practices for baby and mother. The TF Centre will also understand and meet the gaps in knowledge dissemination and public education, with regards to child development and maternal health.

The development of thought leadership will also be expected of the TF Centre for CHaMP, through research and educational projects generated through various project start-up grants aimed at translating how KKH can pilot and collect data around new service delivery models of care.

The presence of the Centre additionally forms multi-stakeholder partnerships, and convenes key actors in the early childhood development and maternal health space.

Tanoto Foundation, founded by Sukanto Tanoto and Tinah Bingei Tanoto, continues to contribute to early childhood education and development.