YCAB Foundation and dan Scott Thompson Establish Rumah Belajar to Help Underprivileged Children in Kintamani
BALI, 22 November 2012 – After running for 25 days, passing through more than 30 cities in five provinces, Scott Thompson completed his mission “Berlari Terus: Bali-Jakarta” on April 1 st , 2012. The initiator of “Berlari Terus”, Scott Thompson, has successfully raised fund worth Rp 3.8 billion to help Indonesian children. YCAB Foundation as one of the beneficiaries of the 1250 km journey, has utilized the fund to build Rumah Belajar for underprivilged children and high school drop-outs in Kintamani, Bali.
Rumah Belajar named “Rumah Belajar Scott Thompson” is a realization from the fund received from “Berlari Terus: Bali – Jakarta” that lasted from March 8 th until April 1 st , 2012. YCAB Foundation and Scott Thompson also supported by Cempaka Putih Foundation as a location provider for Rumah Belajar at Sangon village, Kintamani, Bangli – Bali.
Beside its privilege as a tourist destination, this Islands of gods also has a large amount of underprivileged people who need help. Based on data from Central Body of Statistic (BPS) on 2011, from a total of 3,5 million people of Bali, there are 4.20% underprivileged people. In the education arena, there are 1.315 school aged children who have to drop out out of school.
Founder/CEO YCAB Foundation, Veronica Colondam stated that the location of Rumah Belajar in Kintamani is based on result of needs assessment that Rumah Belajar team has executed. She also added that Rumah Belajar Scott Thompson is part of a commitment from YCAB Foundation to allocate 100% the funds from “Berlari Terus: Bali-Jakarta” to for Indonesian youth education.
In addition to Rumah Belajar Scott Thompson in Bali, there will be a Rumah Belajar Scott Thompson in Jakarta and two other cities that will be chosen from the 30 cities that Scott has passed through during his mission “berlari Terus: Bali-Jakarta”. The four Rumah Belajar that will be built will provide digital inclusion class which will provide certificate for the drop out and underprivileged children around the area. Each year, each of the Rumah Belajar can reach out to up to 450 underprivilged children or a total of 1,800 children for all 4 Rumah Belajar.
“Besides Bali, there will be three other Rumah Belajar Scott Thompson that will mark the journey of Scott Thompson from Bali to Jakarta. Per YCAB standard in every Rumah Belajar, students who graduate from our program will receive certification from BINUS University. In all our Rumah Belajar, we use original licenses from Microsoft for all the software in our training program. We are hopeful that this Rumah Belajar will give opportunity for the underprivileged children around Kintamani to improve their skills. We also see the potential for the other vocational programs to be offered in the future such as hospitality class, especially café & restaurant. This will allow Rumah Belajar to work with Cempaka Putih Foundation for employment opportunity for those who graduate from the program”.
Veronica also added, according to the data from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2011, the rank of Human Development Index in Indonesia is still in position 124 of 187 countries. Specifically in education arena, Indonesia still ranks at 119, therefore we need to put more efforts in improving the quality of education in Indonesia.
As a closing statement, the founder of Berlari Terus, Scott Thompson, stated that he is really excited and honoured with the initiative from YCAB Foundation to build Rumah Belajar Scott Thompson. “This Rumah Belajar is only possible through the amazing support I received on my Bali to Jakarta fund raiser and can’t thank everyone enough for getting behind the charity run. The opening of this Rumah Belajar makes the sweat and effort of my run feel so worthwhile and doubly thrilled with something as tangible as this learning centre. I’m convinced it will make a positive impact towards youth education in this very special part of Bali”.
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About Berlari Terus
“Berlari Terus” from Bali to Jakarta was initiated by Scott Thompson, a professional who was born in Scotland. Through this program, Scott Thompson raises funds from corporations and individuals which will be donated to two foundations; YCAB Foundation and Mary’s Cancer Kiddies (MCK). In 2010, he ran for 250 K in the Sahara desert and raised funds for MCK.
For further information, please visit www.runningbalitojakarta.com
About Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa (YCAB Foundation)
(YCAB) is an independent non-profit organization in Indonesia which was established in August 1999 and became a global organization in 2011 through YCAB International. YCAB International is headquartered in New York and is registered as a non-profit organization that has facilities tax (tax deductions) through section 501 (c) (3).
YCAB aims to establish independence of adolescents with a comprehensive development approach which focuses on health, education, and welfare through three pillars: Healthy Lifestyle Promotion (HELP), House of Learning and Development (HOLD), and Hands-on Operation for Entrepreneurship (HOPE).
For further information, please visit www.ycabfoundation.org