"The president has always reminded of the importance of human resources development for Indonesia's future," Moeldoko emphasized in a press broadcast of the Executive Office of the President of Republic Indonesia (KSP) received in Jakarta, Thursday.
Based on the KSP broadcast, Moeldoko visited and greeted students of Salaawi State Elementary School in Cianjur, West Java, Wednesday (Mar 29).
Meoldoko shared details of his childhood with the students in the hopes of sparking their excitement and passion to pursue higher education.
"The condition back then was much more difficult when I was your age. My school got frequently flooded, and so, we had to take refuge in a village hall to study. However, that did not erode my will to study," Moeldoko remarked.
On the occasion, Moeldoko also accompanied eight Japanese guests of Sakuranesia Society foundation keen on donating for the development of education in Indonesia.
The foundation had earlier met Moeldoko to express keenness to make a donation for supporting education in Indonesia.
In response, Moeldoko invited them to cooperate with the Koes Moeldoko foundation that was founded to commemorate his late wife Koesni Moeldoko.
"This foundation was dedicated to my beloved wife. She shared the same concern as Sakuranesia regarding education quality," Moeldoko stated.
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Salaawi school was chosen since only 20 percent of its alumni had managed to continue their studies to Junior High School (SMP), while the rest of the students had dropped out.
In fact, the school is located in Cipanas region, only five kilometers away from Cipanas Palace, or about 50 kilometers from Jakarta.
"This is ironic. Despite its proximity to the government center, the educational participation remains very low," Tofik Rustam, a representative of Sakuranesia Society, stated.
The educational donation program in Salaawi School is being implemented under cooperation with the school committee comprising the students' parents.
Sakuranesia Society will soon form a cooperative that will sell basic necessities at low prices. The cooperative will solely serve its members, i.e., teachers and parents keen on their children continuing their studies.
If students do not continue their studies, then they will not be able to become members.
"This is our effort to empower parents, so that they can support their children to continue their studies," Tofik affirmed.
In the first phase, Sakuranesia handed over aid worth Rp150 million as cooperative capital. Meanwhile, Moeldoko also handed donation worth Rp50 million.
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Translator: Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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