JAKARTA — Partnering with Dompet Dhuafa, Smart School distributed donations to support the Millennial Build Schools (MBS) Programme. The donation was made on Friday (1/11/2024), as part of the Language Month celebration in October.
During Language Month, Smart School held a book bazaar, which was obtained from the collection of their students. The books collected were then sold, resulting in a donation of Rp1,905,000. The funds were then channeled to Dompet Dhuafa to support the Millennial Build a School Programme.
This book bazaar activity is a routine agenda held at the school every year. In addition to educating students to utilise used books that are no longer used, through this activity the Smart School teachers also instil the value of empathy to be able to care and help others to the students.
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Millennial Bangun Sekolah is an initiative of Dompet Dhuafa that aims to support the improvement of teaching and learning facilities for marginalised schools in remote areas. Inviting millennials to participate in building schools.
One of them is MIS Nurul Huda in Pulau Palas Village, Indragiri Hilir, Riau. A school with poor conditions, where the Teaching and Learning Activities are filled with three different classes that are only bordered by plywood, as well as the teacher’s office. The walls, windows and floors are also made of wood. MIS Nurul Huda is also often flooded. The access road to the school is also covered by water.
Through the Millennial Build Schools Programme, Dompet Dhuafa renovated the classrooms and added two new classrooms that will be used for high school classes, namely grades 5 and 6.
Madina, one of the teachers of Smart School said that at school the most important value instilled in students is adab, including having empathy for those in need. Madina also invited some students to hand over directly to Dompet Dhuafa.
‘Although in terms of our school label there is no word ‘Islam’, but in our school and the teachers always prioritise Islamic values at school, this means that children from a young age will be accustomed to being polite, respecting differences, and having empathy values as taught in the Al-Quran and Hadith. So this time we also invited them to Dompet Dhuafa to hand over the donation directly as representatives of their friends,’ said Madina.
In addition to monetary donations, Smart School students also donated used books that will be distributed to the Millennial Build a School programme.
Yudha Andilla, Retail Fundraising Manager, expressed his gratitude because this form of concern from the school children will bring big changes in the future, especially in the quality of emotional intelligence in the field of education, especially training their sensitivity of sympathy and empathy when they grow up.
‘I used to teach in a school too, so when I see children who care, it’s very cool and hopefully it can be a role model that can be done by all students in other schools,’ added Yudha.
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This collaboration between Smart School and Dompet Dhuafa is the first of its kind, and is expected to bring many positive activities in the future. Madina, representing the school, hopes that this collaboration can continue and be consistent, providing sustainable benefits for the community and future generations.
‘I am very happy that today in addition to handing over the donation, we can also share directly school activities that can be collaborated with Dompet Dhuafa, hopefully our friendship will be even closer,’ added Madina.
This collaboration is the first step to creating positive changes that have a big impact, especially in the field of education, and benefit many people. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text and photo: Nuriyah and Anndini Dwi Putri
Editor: Dhika