"Sobat Alam" Scholarship

Background

Education is an important factor to reach better life of human beings because good education can endow men with good behaviours to care for other living creatures. Due to poverty, many children in Indonesia can not attend even the compulsory schools.

Petungsewu Wildlife Education Centre (P-WEC) as an education centre of nature conservation founded by ProFauna Indonesia takes education for children as one of its basic principles. Therefore, P-WEC initiates a scholarship program which combines provision for students' academic needs and informal education of nature conservation. It is called "Sobat Alam" (Nature's Friends) Scholarship.

It is hoped that grantees of this scholarship will think and act to support nature conservation anywhere, anytime, and any profession they will be in the future.

At this early stage, "Sobat Alam" Scholarship will be granted to the children living at the villages surrounding P-WEC's centre, Petungsewu and Kucur Villages. P-WEC and ProFauna plans to cover more children and more villages by the forests to expand this scholarship.

For Better Future of Forests in Indonesia

It is estimated that the remaining forests in Indonesia is only 120 millions hectares. The deforestation rate is 1.8 millions hectares per year. According to the Forestry Department Report of Deforestation in Indonesia from 2003 to 2006, the rates were: 268,000 hectares per year in Sumatera, at the first place; 239,000 hectares per year in Kalimantan; 114,700 hectares per year in Sulawesi; and 2,500 hectares per year in Java.

Despite the small rate of deforestation in Java Island, the remaining forests in the Island are very important. As the most densely populated Island in Indonesia, the forests there are neglected. In fact, they are inhabited by some endangered species endemic to the Island like Javan Eagle, Javan langur, Javan gibbon, slow loris, surili, Javan rhino, and many more that needs protection to prevent them from extinction.

The area which is most deforested is East Java: 438,100 hectares per year. The remaining forests in East Java are located in the R. Soerjo Grand Forest Park and in the foothills of Kawi Mountain close to P-WEC centre.

P-WEC believes that education for young generation from their early life is an investment for better future of forests and the living creatures. Therefore, P-WEC initiates "Sobat Alam" Scholarship as one of its means to save and protect forests and wildlife in Indonesia.

Objectives:

  • To help children at the villages by the forests to enter higher compulsory schools, junior high school (aged 13 - 15, locally called SMP) and senior high school (aged 16 - 18, locally called SMA)
  • Endow scholarship grantees with knowledge and skills to care for nature and the living creatures.

Methods:

P-WEC will distribute the donations to the selected grantees of "Sobat Alam" Scholarship. At this early stage, grantees are selected from junior and senior high school students as some parents can not afford the tuition for this level of education.

"Sobat Alam" Scholarship will cover these following posts:
  • Enrolment Fee
  • Monthly tuition
  • Text books
  • Uniform
  • Transportation (Senior high school students)

P-WEC will find donors (foster parents) for this scholarship. It is hoped that one student will get one foster parent.

Nature Conservation Values for Scholarship Grantee

The grantee will be given education and training of nature conservation as follow:

  • Twice a week in after school hours, a grantee will learn about nature conservation in P-WEC in theories and practices.
  • At least once in month, a grantee will volunteer in P-WEC.

Evaluation and report

A grantee is required make a monthly report about his/her education progress to P-WEC. In the mean time, P-WEC will also guide the student to get better achievement at school. Quarterly in a year, s/he has to send a short report to his/her foster parent via email.

P-WEC as "Sobat Alam" Scholarship facilitator will send the donors (foster parents) a report in every semester including progresses and finances.

Budget:

The scholarship for a junior high school student is 3,000,000 IDR (about USD 350) per year and for a senior high school student is 10,000,000 IDR (about USD 1,100) per year.

A donor (foster parent) is required to fund the school fees of a grantee for three years, with three times payment every year.

Would you like to support "Sobat Alam" Scholarship?

Support this scholarship by becoming a foster parent. For further information, please contact P-WEC (0341) 7040564, Email: info@p-wec.org or rosek@profauna.org

If you would like to support but you can't be a foster parent, you could donate to:

Bank Name: BNI
Account Number: 53093460
Account Name: ProFauna Indonesia
Bank Address: Jl. Basuki Rahmat 75-77 Malang Indonesia
Swift Code: BNINIDJAMLG

(c)2003 - P-WEC (Petungsewu Wildlife Education Center) Update & maintenance by Admin