PT ACE INA Insurance, a member of the ACE Group of Companies, a global leader in insurance and reinsurance announced today, through the Sampoerna Foundation, the hand-over of facilities worth US $100,000 or Rp 900 million, for eight schools in Yogyakarta province which were heavily damaged by the earthquake a year ago.
Fred Latumahina, Vice President Director of ACE Insurance, symbolically handed over the donation to the eight principals of the recipient schools at the Bantul 2 High School. The handover was witnessed by Sapto H. Sakti, Communications Director of the Sampoerna Foundation.
The donation is being channeled in the form of school facilities such as physics, chemistry and biology laboratories, computers, printers and books for the school libraries.
“The financial assistance ACE Insurance provides varies according to the specific needs of each school,” said Fred. The eight schools are :
1. Junior high school SMPN 3 Jetis (Bantul)
2. Senior high school SMAN 1 Pundong (Bantul)
3. Senior high school SMAN 2 Bantul (Bantul)
4. Elementary school SDN 3 Kretek (Bantul)
5. Elementary school SDN 1 Bantulan (Bantul)
6. Elementary school SDN 1 Banyusoco (Gunung Kidul)
7. Elementary school SDN 2 Patuk (Gunung Kidul)
8. Elementary school SDN Duwet (Gunung Kidul)
He added that so far, the rehabilitation of these schools, damaged by the earthquake, has focused on the physical structure only.
According to data from Bakornas or National Coordinating Board, most of the rehabilitation funds from the government and other institutions, including NGOs and private companies, have been channeled towards physical reconstruction. Learning should be complimented with adequate practice sessions to ensure the efficacy of the process. “For this reason, the availability of facilities like laboratories and libraries, apart from the physical school building, is just as significant,” Fred emphasized.
Sapto H. Sakti, Communications Director of the Sampoerna Foundation said that the rehabilitation of education post-earthquake in Yogyakarta is a sustainable process. “Although the earthquake happened nearly one year ago, the process of educational rehabilitation must be continuous. If the school building is rebuilt, we must then look at the supporting facilities. Subsequently, we look at the condition of the books, the availability of teachers, and so on. That is why the initiative of ACE Insurance is a step in the right direction supporting this sustainable process of education in Yogyakarta.
“The Sampoerna Foundation is very grateful to ACE Insurance for choosing the Foundation as a partner to channel its funding,” Sapto added.
Apart from support for school facilities for the eight schools in Yogyakarta, SF and other partners also run various education programs such as the Sampoerna Foundation United Schools Program (SF-USP), reconstruction of schools and scholarships.
About ACE Insurance
The ACE Group of Companies is a global leader in insurance and reinsurance serving a diverse group of clients. Headed by ACE Limited (NYSE: ACE), a component of the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index, the ACE Group conducts its business on a worldwide basis with operating subsidiaries in more than 50 countries with a strong presence in Asia Pacific.
Operating in the Indonesia since 1969, PT ACE INA Insurance delivers specialized and customized coverages for Property, Casualty, Marine, Financial Lines, Energy & Utilities and Accident & Health. In each area of specialty, ACE leverages global expertise with local acumen to create specific solutions to mitigate client risk. With a focus on building strong relationships by offering responsive service, ACE in Indonesia has carved a niche for itself as one of the leading direct marketing providers of Accident & health insurance.
Additional information can be found at: www.aceinsurance.co.id
About Sampoerna Foundation (SF)
SF is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of and access to education in Indonesia. Since 2005, SF has formulated several programs to improve the quality of education. One of these programs is the SF United Schools Program (SF USP), whose purpose is to upgrade the quality of high schools in Indonesia. Up to July 2006, SF USP had adopted 14 schools in Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, aceh, and Bali. Also in 2006, SF launched the Sampoerna Foundation Teacher Institute and the Sampoerna School of Business and Management-ITB.
Up to now, SF has granted more than 25,000 scholarships from elementary to graduate levels to financially deserving students with good academic performance. The Foundation’s most competitive scholarship program is the SF Overseas Graduate Scholarship Program that provides opportunities for scholarship recipients to pursue their MBA degrees at top-tier business schools in the world. So far, the Foundation has sent its scholars to Harvard Business School (Harvard University), Hass School of Business (University of California, Berkeley), Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania), London Business School and other leading business schools across the world.
In addition, SF now has 111 undergraduate and graduate levels alumni, and 4,704 high school level alumni. Through empowerment on both a personal and a professional level, SF provides its scholarship recipients with the opportunity to make a significant contribution to the development of their country.
SF also facilitates the efforts of private sector entities to support the development of national education through their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programs by managing their CSR funds and enabling SF scholarship recipients to take part in the internship programs offered by the various corporations. In Aceh, Yogyakarta, Central Java and Pangandaran, SF has worked with local and international partners to rebuild educational system destroyed in natural disasters. For more information, please visit the SF website at: www.sampoernafoundation.org