Indonesia’s location on the Pacific “ring of fire” makes it prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. The Putera Sampoerna Foundation was one of the first organizations to arrive in Aceh province after the 2004 tsunami to provide tents, supplies and equipment so schools could continue to operate. The foundation also provided relief aid after the 2006 Yogyakarta and 2009 West Sumatra earthquakes and the 2010 Mt. Merapi eruption in Central Java. In 2009, the Putera Sampoerna Foundation established Bait Al-Kamil (House of Perfection), which was awarded a license by the National Alms Management Body (BAZNAS), enabling the foundation to collect donations and tithes from the Muslim community for channeling to those in need of assistance.

Bait Al-Kamil is a caring humanitarian institute that responds to communities in need. In addition, it works to improve the lives of orphans by cultivating entrepreneurship through business mentoring and coaching.

Bait Al-Kamil supports the Pathway to Leadership grand strategy developed by the Putera Sampoerna Foundation to cultivate the spirit of giving. Together with other partners, including corporation and individual donors, Bait Al-Kamil nurtures compassionate assistance and helps to create leaders regardless of their economic circumstances.

The creativity, resourcefulness and innovativeness of the Indonesian people makes the country fertile ground for entrepreneurship. Small to medium-sized enterprises in Indonesia account for more than 90 percent of all jobs outside the agricultural sector, yet the nation lags behind its neighbors in the rate of entrepreneurship.

The Putera Sampoerna Foundation has learned from experience that society’s problems are interrelated and require a holistic approach, one that creates a new, healthier social ecosystem in which opportunities abound for individual advancement. For that reason, the MEKAR Entrepreneur Network focuses on growing Indonesian entrepreneurship and employment by providing both physical and online facilities that enable entrepreneurs and angel investors to connect, network and grow business ideas and enterprises. MEKAR provides the tools, training and advice to help aspiring entrepreneurs make their dreams come true, and counsels angel investors on the start-up process. MEKAR’s comprehensive entrepreneurship program has the intention of creating successful businesses that promote sustainable economic growth.

Indonesia ranked 94th out of 157 countries in the United Nations Development Program’s Gender Empowerment Index as of 2009. Indonesian women lack the same access to education as men, and suffer from wage discrimination. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s mortality rate among mothers is one of the highest in ASEAN, with 10,200 mothers dying each year as of 2008, according to the Indonesian Statistics Bureau.

Realizing that the full empowerment of women is vital to Indonesia reaching its full potential, the Putera Sampoerna Foundation established Sahabat Wanita (Friends of Women) to increase the access of disadvantaged women to knowledge that can improve family health and well-being. The Putera Sampoerna Foundation also set up a cooperative to help women contribute to family income by developing small businesses through management training and micro-financing. These programs are expected to spur a strong social network and a national movement to facilitate the emergence of more women leaders able to contribute to family welfare and the development of Indonesia.

Sahabat Wanita works through the Yayasan Sahabat Wanita (Friends of Women Foundation) and the Koperasi Sahabat Wanita (Friends of Women Cooperative). Yayasan Sahabat Wanita works to promote the social welfare of those living in rural communities through improving healthcare and skills development, providing vocational training, promoting and protecting the rights of women and ensuring gender equality.

Koperasi Sahabat Wanita provides economic and financial assistance for women from the lowest economic quintile of Indonesian society. Yayasan Sahabat Wanita takes on the role of “foster mother” to Koperasi Sahabat Wanita and gives women with supervision and activities designed to address women’s and family issues. Koperasi Sahabat Wanita works to recruit and organize women from all levels of society into national social groups to promote equality and upward mobility for women.

Access to quality education is the biggest obstacle to the development of Indonesia, the world’s fourth most-populous nation. Only 18 percent of Indonesian high school students receive any form of higher education, compared with 28 percent in the Philippines, 43 percent in Thailand and 91 percent in South Korea, according to UNESCO. Worse still, only 3.5 percent of high school students from the nation’s lowest economic quintile receive any form of higher education, according to the Indonesian Statistics Bureau. These numbers highlight the educational challenges Indonesia faces in its development efforts.

Established by the Putera Sampoerna Foundation, Koperasi Siswa Bangsa is a non-profit, student-owned cooperative that provides a comprehensive support system, including financial assistance, to the most academically gifted of Indonesia’s most disadvantaged students to help them attain superior high school and university educations. Membership is based on such criteria as academic performance, family income, capacity for leadership and dedication to community. In early 2010, Koperasi Siswa Bangsa introduced Dana Siswa Bangsa, the first long-term student financing solution in Indonesia. Dana Siswa Bangsa changed the paradigm of access to education for the disadvantaged by fully funding the education of 167 students in the Sampoerna School of Education and Sampoerna School of Business.

In 2011, Siswa Bangsa is expanding the program to help qualified Indonesians access higher education around the world. Siswa Bangsa has established a strategic partnership with ACCESS Education Beyond, a new international higher education exchange program that supports Indonesian students and parents in identifying, preparing for and successfully enrolling in international universities.