Jakarta, September 26 2022 – A total of 1,500 students from 30 orphanages from eight provinces in Indonesia, have completed an English learning scholarship, which began in early 2022. This program is the initiation and the result of collaboration between EdTech Cakap, Benih Baik Indonesia Foundation along with leading marketplace Tokopedia under the program of “TopDonasi: Aku Bisa Bahasa Inggris (I Can Speak English)” that is obtained from Tokopedia’s users donations. This collaboration is established because there is one common commitment between the three strategic partners, that is to create the widest possible social impact for people in need through the use of technology.
Chief of Business Cakap, Jonathan Dharmasoeka, stated that as a leading platform in the field of educational technology, Cakap always strives to improve the skills (upskilling) of the nation’s to various parts of the country and from various backgrounds, including those who have had difficulty accessing skills education. We call this initiative Cakap untuk Bangsa or Cakap for the Nations. “We see that there is a gap between the access and need for foreign language learning for children in Child Welfare Institutions such as orphanages. The online learning method is expected to be able to bridge this gap,” stated Jonathan.
Meanwhile, The Founder and CEO of BenihBaik.com, Andy F. Noya, said that English is not a language that they use on a daily basis. But in general, the children in the orphanage certainly want to compete with fluency in English because it is an international language that is used globally. Therefore, the free online English learning is a positive program to provide a comprehensive English education for them. “The solution offered in this activity is for them to get a comprehensive learning about the importance of understanding English. The results of this activity are expected to make the orphanage children be able to compete with their peers, not to be left behind, and so that their future is brighter,” said F. Noya.
On the same occasion, Senior Lead Public Affairs of Tokopedia, Aditia Grasio Nelwan said that the collaboration between Tokopedia, Cakap and BenihBaik is an example of a derivative activity from the Tokopedia Bersama (Beraksi untuk Sesama) initiative. The program encourages community participation in various social movements through five main pillars, one of which is education and technology. “The “TopDonasi: I Can Speak English Program”, which was obtained from Tokopedia users’ donations, is a practical example of this collaboration. In the future, we hope to inspire more strategic partners to act for each other with Tokopedia so that they can continue to help as many Indonesian students as possible, creating educational opportunities through technology,” added Nelwan.
Based on the data from the Ministry of Social Affairs, until 2021 there are more than 190,000 children who are under protection of Child Welfare Institutions such as orphanages or foundations. This collaboration targets 1,500 students ranging in age from 9 to 20 years old who live in orphanages in eight provinces: Jakarta Special Region, Banten, West Java, East Java, Central Java, North Sumatra, South Sulawesi and Riau.
The Muslimin Jaya Orphanage in Manggarai, South Jakarta became the location for the symbolic closing of this program. Aulia Maharani, one of the students who was selected as the “Best Student” expressed her gratitude because through this program she can gain knowledge, insight and relationships. As one of the students of the Muslimin Jaya Orphanage, she received the benefits of learning English for about six months, directly to her study at school. “I am happy and grateful to have the opportunity to learn and share with the experienced professional teachers. I hope that after this learning, the knowledge can continue to be useful and programs like this can continue in the coming year, “said Aulia.
This joint initiative from Cakap, Tokopedia and BenihBaik is expected not only to benefit the nation’s but also to be a real step in equalizing access to a qualified education for all people, including orphans. Implemented during the transition from the pandemic to the new normal, this program is expected to be able to improve the quality of Indonesian human resources. This collaboration also shows the good synergy of the three platforms in reducing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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: @squline