Clean water is a basic need that must be provided in the community. Considering the importance of clean water, Tanoto Foundation scholarship recipients, who are members of Tanoto Scholars Association of Mulawarman University in Samarinda take the initiative to help the people of Desa Muang Dalam RT 34, Lempake.

Desa Muang is a village facilitated by Mulawarman TSA, which is far from the center of Samarinda city. “All this time, the people have always used tap water,” said Bapak Ismanu, Head of RT (Neighborhood Group) 34, Desa Muang Dalam.

The water that is yellow, dirty, and smelly has caused the Tanoto Scholars to help create a solution with simple water filters. This activity receives enthusiastic response from the residents. With this solution, the residents have hope and opportunity to gain a better living quality.

The water filters are provided free of charge to approximately 20 family heads, and are also installed at places of worship and posyandu (family planning and health service center) located in the village. In addition, the Tanoto Scholars share information on how to make the water filter. It is hoped that the community can be self-supporting in assembling or maintaining the equipments, and as such when there are problems, the people will be able to correct them.

The construction of the equipment is very easy and cheap. One equipment is estimated to cost Rp100,000. By using simple water filters, the people are already able to create a solution to a problem they have experienced all this time.

“Insha Allah (Lord willing), the equipment is very useful, because it can be directly used by the residents”, said Mr. Ismanu in his closing remark.

Implementing the knowledge gained from university studies is one of the reasons why Tanoto Scholars organize this work program. In addition, the Scholars realize that a good work program is a work program that starts from the community itself.

Thanks to Tanoto Foundation for giving better living quality to the community of RT 34 Desa muang Dalam, Samarinda, and giving an opportunity to Tanoto Scholars to realize their dream and share with the surrounding community.

Written by Magdalena Maristia, Tanoto Scholar from Mulawarman University of Samarinda.

A total of 250 Tanoto Scholars from 21 universities across Indonesia participated in the Tanoto Scholars Gathering (TSG) 2017 event this year.

Carrying the theme of “Learn and Lead”, the four-day event took place from November 22 to 25 at the Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP) Complex in Pangkalan Kerinci, Sumatra.

Present to officiate the opening ceremony of TSG 2017 was Tanoto Foundation Board of Trustees member Anderson Tanoto.

Echoing values imparted on him by RGE Founder and Chairman Sukanto Tanoto, Anderson encouraged the scholars to embrace lifelong learning, to learn how to “lead oneself before leading others” and to always care for the community, in the manner of “paying it forward”.

He urged the TSG 2017 participants to make use of the opportunities to improve their soft skills, teamwork and leadership skills, as well as to network and learn from each other.

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Among this year’s list of inspirational speakers at TSG 2017 was Rio Haryanto, Indonesia’s first Formula One driver.

Rio spoke about the significance of discipline, determination and dedication in the pursuit success, as well as the importance of self-preparation in boosting one’s confidence and ability to prove oneself.

Rio lauded Tanoto Foundation’s constant efforts to contribute towards supporting the development of youth.

“There are a lot of youth who are not able to chase their dreams or pursue their education at the university level.

“I believe Tanoto Scholars are in very good hands. I think they have the possibility to make their dreams come true – maybe even put their name on the world map – through Tanoto Foundation,” Rio said.

The TSG 2017 participants also heard from Editor-in-Chief at Bisnis Indonesia Hery Trianto about the ongoing Indonesian media and journalism landscape.

“I believe that millennials possess good intelligence and creativity. If this is supported with persistence, they will be able to achieve success,” Hery said.

The participants also attended various talks by Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) Director Kuswiyoto, RAPP Operations Planner Indra Gunawan, RGE Human Resources Department Head Fonny Lomanorek and Head of Tanoto Foundation Executive Board Sihol Aritonang.

As part of the four-day program, the scholars also visited SDN Buatan Baru, where they engaged in community service involving tree-planting and biopori making activities. They also received soft skill training in the areas of public speaking and social media, and participated in art performances as well as a photo contest.

Several teachers of SDN 010 Tasik Putri Puyu in Pulau Padang, Kepulauan Meranti, Riau Province arranged donation books received from Tanoto Foundation. That morning before the bell rang, the piles of books were lined up neatly on the bookshelves in the library room measuring 2 × 3 meters.

Students, who previously played in the yard, immediately stormed into the library room. In an instant, the books on the shelves had passed into the hands of the students. Some read while smiling, laughing, and pointing to each other’s book.

As a school located on one of Indonesia’s outer islands, face to face with Malaysia, Pulau Padang falls into the category of remote areas with limited facilities. At the school, the library collection comprises only a few books, not piles of books as in the libraries of urban areas.

Tanoto Foundation, which has a commitment to advance education in remote areas, takes the initiative to increase the reading interest of elementary school children in Pulau Padang, one of which is SDN 010 Tasik Putri Puyu, by donating 3,000 books to be distributed to several schools in Pulau Padang.

It was a long struggle to bring these books to Pulau Panjang, because the books had to be picked up from Sumatra Island, to be precise, from Port Pakning in Bengkalis. It took about five hours back and forth to pick up the books. None the less, the teachers of Pulau Padang collected the books with full enthusiasm. The purpose of the book donation to Pulau Panjang is to spread reading interest among the local people.

Provision of library facilities and reading books is very important, because one of the causes of low interest in reading is limitation in library facilities and book collection. In addition to the provision of reading books, Tanoto Foundation also organizes Pelita Pustaka Program, which is a library management program at the schools. This program will provide ease to the rural communities in accessing books and prompt them to have a habit of reading and love of books.

Result of this Tanoto Foundation program has currently begun to materialize. Interest in reading of Tanoto Foundation partner schools’ students is on the rise. It is now a common occurrence during their school break for the students to gather around the libraries to read collections of books donated by the Tanoto Foundation.

Pelita Pustaka program is run by Tanoto Foundation in the Provinces of Riau, Jambi and North Sumatra. To date, more than 186 library rooms have been constructed or renovated. Tanoto Foundation has donated more than 32 thousand books, and trained more than 1,800 teachers.