Former Tanoto Scholar Simon Pangihutan Simorangkir (a graduate of North Sumatra University in Chinese Literature) recently represented Indonesia as the country’s sole delegate in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Edutainment Exchange Program (AEEP) and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Future Education Forum (AFEF) in Hanoi, Vietnam.

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Organized by the Korean Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Institute of APEC Collaborative Education, the AAEP primarily aims to instil seeds of entrepreneurship in young people from APEC countries.

The program, which includes discussions about social entrepreneurship, also intends to train the delegates to become socially-conscious entrepreneurs. As part of the program, each delegate has to complete a ‘Research and Team Project Regarding Social Business’.

During the AEEP, the delegates were also given training on how to create social business plans in the APEC region via multilateral cooperation. Delegates also had the opportunity to gain insights into various policies and industries, courtesy of government representatives, business experts and professionals, as well as professors.

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Simon has previously also represented Indonesia in the ASEAN Student Forum, Indonesia-China Student Summer, and the International Economic Workshop. However, his list of achievements does not stop there, as he is currently undertaking a Master of Business Administration at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in Wuhan, China, under a scholarship.

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Simon’s myriad of achievements has been possible only because of his relentless efforts to achieve his goals. At the lowest point in his life, economic circumstances forced Simon to relocate to Palu in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province in order to continue his high school education. However, his financial struggles continued there and Simon had to work as a car rental driver on weekends in an effort to finance his education.

It wasn’t unusual for the current master’s degree candidate to frequently break down back then over his situation at the time. However, Simon knew that he should never give up and that he was meant to rise instead. In fact, whenever he saw an airplane, Simon would stare at it and the sky, and tell himself that he would one day “take a plane back and forth”.

Sure enough, his determination has led him to various cities within Indonesia, as well as other countries. Simon has thus far taken part in Tanoto Foundation’s Tanoto Scholars Gathering event in Bogor and the Indonesia Youth Forum in Jakarta, as well as the AEEP.

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Simon has also taken the opportunity to use his achievements to give back. Even in the midst of his busy schedule, Simon made the time to set up the ‘Youth Love Community for Children’, KOPECINDA (Komunitas Pemuda Cinta Damai Anak). Through this community, Simon provides free learning facilities and works to raise children’s interest in reading. This is in line with Tanoto Foundation Founder Sukanto Tanoto’s wishes for every Tanoto Scholar to “pay it forward”, to do good for the community and to help as many as possible.

Simon’s success has paid off. Although Simon was a driver, he remained steadfast, and credits his former profession for teaching him about responsibility as the job required him to constantly ensure that his car was headed in the right directions, the maintenance of his car, as well as the safety of his passengers. Because of the job, he learned how to look ahead and to stay focused.

Simon urges any young person to dare to dream big, as all that he has now was once just a dream that others would laugh at him for. But Simon remained optimistic until his dreams were realized, one by one.

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“There is no dream too big – it’s just that the effort you put in isn’t as big as the dream itself. Everyone will fail, even I myself have experienced many failures. All human beings have a failure quota so if I fail, I’m not sad about it because using this ‘failure quota’ just means that I am always trying and am therefore getting closer and closer to success,” Simon said.

Since its inception in 1981, Tanoto Foundation has helped thousands of people in the areas of education, empowerment and enhancement of lives. But the reality is that Indonesia is simply too big a country for a single organization to make a meaningful impact at the national level.

“We are in 300 schools in Indonesia,” explains Sihol Aritonang, Head of Tanoto Foundation in Indonesia. “That sounds like a lot until you realize that there are 300,000 schools in the country.”

Collaboration is key, but different organizations typically have different priorities, methods and processes. The Indonesian government, companies and philanthropic organizations quickly came to the conclusion that the launch of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 provided the ideal framework to tackle the country’s challenges using a common language.

“At the national level, we are barely making a dent so we realized that we need to work with others to achieve our goals – that we should align ourselves with other players towards achieving the SDGs,” says Sihol.

As decision-making on development in Indonesia is relatively decentralized, there are multiple levels of government that must be worked with. In addition Tanoto Foundation collaborates with corporate partners such as APRIL Group and Asian Agri, as well as other philanthropic groups, such as its support for the Asia Philanthropy Circle.

Adopting the SDGs enables all these organizations to align their efforts without necessarily needing to make major changes to their programs – each organization is free to work on a particular SDG or not, provided the goals match those listed in the targets.

Education

Education has always been a key focus of Tanoto Foundation – in fact it was to run a kindergarten that Sukanto Tanoto and his family originally founded the organization. Therefore much of its work supports SDG 4, which calls for Quality Education.

Tanoto Foundation improves basic education in Indonesia by improving teaching quality and school leadership. It works with partner schools to create local and regional centers of excellence, training principals and teachers in the schools to enable them to raise quality of teaching, make lessons more engaging for students, and improve overall management.

Teachers have received training from Tanoto Foundation in areas such as development and implementation of contextual learning, collaborative learning between teachers and students, and classroom management.

Tanoto Foundation’s work with schools also encompasses SDG 2 (zero hunger) and SDG 3 (good health and well-being). Indonesia does not lack food, yet 37 per cent of children below five are stunted, and 57 per cent of rural children are anaemic, largely due to poor understanding of nutritional requirements. At the same time under-five mortality remains above the SDG target of 25 per 1,000 live births.

Tanoto Foundation works to improve sanitation in schools, building modern toilets and installing clean water supplies. It also provides training to parents, pupils and teachers on proper hygiene and nutrition, with the aim of reducing malnutrition and easily preventable childhood illnesses.

Scholarships

Tanoto Foundation is well known in Indonesia for its scholarships, which so far have helped more than 7,200 high-achieving students complete undergraduate degrees at some of the country’s top higher education institutions. With a strong focus on students who demonstrate leadership potential, the scholarship program supports SDG 8, which aims to promote decent work and economic growth.

Tanoto Foundation disburses scholarships to over 450 university students annually, 250 of whom are flown out to participate in an annual Tanoto Scholars Gathering event where they receive additional soft skills training in public speaking and leadership.

Scholarships are also provided to undergraduates studying full-time at universities in Singapore, China and the US.

Tanoto Foundation also partners with universities around the world to improve education, including through the construction or renovation of educational facilities.

There are Tanoto Libraries at the Prasetiya Mulya Business School and Bhayangkara University in Jakarta, a Tanoto Floor for the Faculty of Forestry at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, and a Tanoto Forestry Information Centre at Bogor Agricultural University.

Meanwhile, the Tanoto Initiative at the Wharton School facilitates international linkages between Indonesian universities and the prestigious business school, with the main aim of providing students with new learning opportunities, improving higher education quality, and enhancing research on the regional economy.

Starting this year, activities at Sekolah Dasar Negeri/SDN (State Elementary School) 158 / V Lampisi, Kecamatan Renah Mendaluh, Kabupaten Tanjung Jabung Barat, Jambi looks more vibrant. The reason is the presence of “Paguyuban Kelas (Classroom Societies)” in this school.

Paguyuban Kelas is a community comprising student guardian teachers, ranging from grade I upto grade VI. “The formation of Paguyuban Kelas aims to involve the community in school activities. What we do is inseparable from the role and support of Tanoto Foundation in our school. Finally we are able to empower the community in advancing the school,” said Sri Utami, Head of SDN 158 / V Lampisi.

Paguyuban kelas in SDN 159 / V Lampisi immediately worked after being established. One of their successful programs is the construction of a musalla (prayer room) in the school. After a meeting was held between the school principal, the school committee, and paguyuban kelas, it was agreed to construct the musalla with own funding. Now the musalla in SDN 158 / V Lampisi is already constructed, which constitutes the first musalla resulting from the community’s own effort in Renah Mendaluh area.

Not only being limited to the construction of school infrastructure such as musalla, cooperation between the school and the community also helps the education quality improvement program at the school. Members of Paguyuban Kelas, who are parents of the students, will support the improvement of teaching and learning program at the school.

Tanoto Foundation’s programs implemented at the school such as PAKEM (Active, Creative, and Joyful Learning) methodology gets support from Paguyuban Kelas.

Written by Jazuli, Tanoto Foundation Jambi