Photo: PT Papua Agro Lestari (PAL) organized a reading and writing class for children of Mutimangge Subvillage in South Papua, Saturday (11/2)

SOUTH PAPUA – Every child deserves proper education. But many do not enjoy this right — notably those living in Indonesia’s remote, backward, and frontier areas, where access to quality schooling is impeded by poor building conditions, limited facilities and tools, and teacher shortages.

Stories like this are common in most hinterland communities, including Mutimangge Subvillage in South Papua. Its lack of learning infrastructure has deprived much of its younger population of the ability to read and write.

Fearing their kids would never taste school life, some families have decided to move out of the area and into places where there are better schools.

Due to this, PT Papua Agro Lestari (PAL) — Papua-based oil palm plantation company under Tunas Sawa Erma Group — felt called to run a basic literacy class for the subvillage’s youth and school-aged children.

On Saturday (11/2), this class introduced numbers and letters to the minors dwelling outside PAL’s plantation in Ulilin District, Merauke Regency, South Papua Province.

It demonstrated PAL’s efforts to support basic education improvements in underdeveloped regions, giving locals the fundamental skills they need to access more educational opportunities.

Most of the audience that day were teenagers who embraced the lesson joyfully despite the simple class setting. The event took place in a tent with tarp flooring and provided basic stationeries.

Yet, these conditions did nothing to dampen the audience’s spirits. Learning in an open space offers the students a greater chance to explore their surroundings and creates an environment that encourages curiosity and more casual interaction with teachers and peers.

PAL’s literacy class receives a warm welcome from Mutimangge children, who are active throughout the session

“This activity is part of our efforts to pay greater attention to younger people. Many of them have passed school age but lack reading and writing skills due to inadequate learning facilities,” explained Simonsius Sibha, PAL’s PR section leader.

Sibha added that the Mutimangge kids would be furthering their education at an elementary school within PAL’s operational site.

This literacy class is integral to Corporate Social Contribution (CSC), PAL’s CSR initiatives that reflect a commitment to education improvement in the heart of Papua. It is designed for long-term execution and expansion to remote areas around PAL’s base to provide better educational access for local communities. [Besse/Humas PPA MGT]

Published On: November 2, 2024
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