Bandung, March 13, 2006. A sense of social concern for one’s immediate environment must be developed from school age onwards. This concept is what motivated the SFSC (Sampoerna Foundation Scholars Club) of Bandung to cooperate with SMU 11 and SMU 16 to organize a “High School Social Day” event.

This program was held over several days starting on March 9 and continued on March 11-13, 2006. The March 9 event was held at SMU 11 in Bandung, while activities for March 12 and 13 were focused at SMU 16 in Bandung.

These “High School Social Day” events, held by SF scholarship recipients grouped in the Bandung chapter of SFSC, got a great response from the students at the participating schools, as could be seen in the high level of enthusiasm of the students attending the various activities.
The talk show session on AIDS, which featured Islamic teachers Hari Mukti and Dr. Yuzar of West Java Department of Health, was particularly popular among the young people as they asked questions on matters related to sex.

Besides the above activities, a number of social welfare events were held, such as a blood donor drive, free circumcisions for children from needy families in the communities surrounding the schools, and a social expo.

In addition, donations from the Bandung Peduli Foundation were provided to 700 poor families living around the schools. As well, art presentations, such as music by Islamic male vocal groups called nasyid, cabaret and musical performances, were presented by the students themselves in order to expand the public’s awareness of the arts.

“This program was held in order to increase the social concern of the students toward the community surrounding their schools,” said Aldila Septiady, the President of SFSC in Bandung. This point was enthusiastically emphasized by Drs. Hartono, Head master of SMU 16. “The children not only need to study, they also need to develop concern for their immediate environment”. This program is expected to grow into a sustainable activity at the high schools in Bandung.