Perum Pegadaian would grant a 1-year scholarship to 800 junior and senior secondary school students through the Sampoerna Foundation (SF). The donation was symbolically presented by the Director of Business Development from Perum Pegadaian to 10 scholar representatives from Jakarta. Witnessing the donation handover proceedings was SF Chief Operating Officer, Elan Merdy. The event was also attended by Chandra Purnama (Managing Director of Perum Pegadaian) and Ron Perkinson (President of Sampoerna Foundation) in a blissful ceremony held on February 10^th 2009 in Jakarta.

The scholarship fund of Rp 1,016,684,700,- would be given to 500 junior high school students and 300 senior high school students from 12 provinces. All scholarship recipients are financially disadvantaged students with outstanding academic standings. They made it through 13 evaluation processes from 13 regional Perum Pegadaian offices across Indonesia located in Medan, Pekanbaru, Padang, Palembang, Jakarta (2 branch offices), Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Denpasar, Balikpapan, Makassar and Manado.

On a previous occasion, the working agreement was signed between the two parties on December 30^th 2008 in Klaten - Central Java, marking Perum Pegadaian’s decision to entrust its donation to SF. “To enjoy quality education is the right of every Indonesian child. Unfortunately, there are still many Indonesian children who cannot access this privilege; one of the reasons being the lack of funds. The scholarship assistance is part of Perum Pegadaian’s commitment towards giving Indonesian children equal opportunities at enjoying quality education,” said Chandra Purnama.

“On behalf of my friends who have also received scholarships, I would like to say thank you to Perum Pegadaian. The scholarships can be seen as a ladder which helps us to reach our dreams” said Hendry Styawan, a student from SMAN 85 Jakarta, a scholarship recipient. He presented a beautiful self-written poem at this joyful event.

Perum Pegadaian’s decision to channel its assistance through SF was based on a previous pleasant experience working with SF. They have gained a sense of trust in SF’s proven professionalism in disbursing the assistance to beneficiaries.

SF is committed to upholding the trust that Perum Pegadaian has extended to us, and will continue to channel the donation raised for the betterment of education. “We hope the synergy between Perum Pegadaian and Sampoerna Foundation can provide Indonesian children with more opportunities to attain their rights for obtaining quality education. It is only through quality education that we can develop morally upright leaders for this nation.” Elan concluded.

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