Batu, July 15, 2006. As many as 300 university and high school Sampoerna Foundation scholarship recipients installed 1,020 meters of water pipes in Tlekung Village, Junrejo District,  Batu Regency, East Java. According to Riska Nur, a member of the Surabaya Sampoerna Foundation Club (SSFSC) and the committee chair of the “Tlekung Village Infrastructure Development” project, the pipe installation was done to help the Tlekung villagers get pottable water.

Riska explained that Tlekung Village was chosen because, besides having the lowest per capita income in Batu, it als had a pressing need for pottable water. “The Tlekung villagers have long had difficulties getting water for even their most basic daily needs. The topographic situation of the area made it impossible for them to get water unless they drilled wells a deep as 25 meters and used two pumps to get it up,”  explained Riska, who studies at the Department of Economy of Airlangga University.

Riska added that the pipe installation process involved placing the pipes 40 cm beneath the surface of the soil. According to Riska, this depth wasselected to protect the pipes from becoming easily damaged and leaking. Once the pipes were in place, it was expected that the villages would have more ready access to clean water. 

This community social welfare activity in this dairy farming village was carried out in connection with the Sampoerna Foundation 2006  Annual Gathering held in Batu, Malang. The Annual Gathering itself is a yearly meeting of Sampoerna Foundation scholarship recipients from throughout Indonesia. Besides gathering and sharing experiences, the scholarship recipients assist communities in and around the sites of the gatherings with philanthropic activities.

Not only did the scholarship recipients install the water pipes, SSFSC, whose core mission focuses on education, also invited Tlekung Village elementary school students to join in cleaning up their school grounds.

”Hopefully  once the school is clean and pleasant, the children and teachers will be more enthusiastic about the learning process,” Riska commented. Besides cleaning up the school, SSFSC also encouraged the grade schoolers to maintain their school facilties in order to instill a greater sense of the importance of cleanliness among them.

Through these activities, the Surabaya chapter of SFSC hopes to establish a better working relationship with the local community in order to help achieve a better quality of life for the people of East Java. 

About SSFSC

SSFSC (Surabaya Sampoerna Foundation Scholars Club) was established in August 2002 as a forum for Sampoerna Foundation scholarship recipients. Up to Januariy2005, SSFSC the club had  20 university student members and 1 alumni from the Management Masters program at Airlangga University.
 In line with its main vision, that being serving the public in the fields of social work and education, SSFSC has established an annual working program that involves various kinds of philathrpic activities. From its inception until now, SSFSC has completed 5 social welfare community assistance over periods of from 3 to 6 months.

For further information plase contact:

Public Relations Surabaya SFSC
Dita (085648030891)
Riska   (085649738994)

About Sampoerna Foundation (SF)

SF is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of and access to education in Indonesia. Up to now, SF has provided more than 18,300 scholarships for needy students at the elementary, secondary and tertiary levels of education. SF empowers its scholarship recipients on both a personal and professional level through a network of 4,800 active alumni so that they can all make a concrete contribution to the nation. 

Besides that, SF also runs the School Quality Improvement Program (SQIP), which has been applied at six schools in Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan and Bali. In Aceh, SF has cooperated local and international partners to rebuild the damaged educational system.

SF has also facilitated private sector entities to support the development of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programs through the management of CSR funds and the opportunity for large companies to offer internships to scholarship recipients. In 2006, SF will launch new programs: The Teacher Institute (TI) and the Institutional Development Program (IDP). SF was established in Jakarta on March 1, 2001. For further information, please visit our website: www.sampoernafoundation.org

For more information, please contact:
Hendri B. Satrio
Media Relations
Sampoerna Foundation
Sampoerna Strategic Square
Tower B, Lantai 3
Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 45
Jakarta 12930, Indonesia
Tel. +62-21-577 2340 ext. 7055 Fax. +62-21-577 2341
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