Fourth CCPHI Education and Business Forum - “Improving the Quality of Basic Education in Mimika District, Papua”
Company Community Partnerships for Health in Indonesia (CCPHI) held its fourth Education and Business Forum (EBF) on September 26, 2012. The forum, titled “Improving the Quality of Basic Education in Mimika District, Papua,” drew 54 participants, representing 7 companies, 13 NGOs, 3 educational institutions, and 1 association. The meeting was hosted by PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) and moderated by Mohammad Ihsan from the Indonesian Teachers Association (IGI).
Verry Robot, PTFI's superintendent of Social and Local Development, and Emanuel Kemong, executive secretary of Amungme-Kamoro Community Development Institute/LPMAK, described the partnership between PTFI and LPMAK, which was designed to improve the quality of basic education in Papua's Mimika District by increasing access to education for its children under 12 years old. The first stage of the program was in operation from 2006 to 2011.
The education program focused on building school facilities, improving teachers' capacity to implement national curricula, and increasing students' participation in school, thereby benefiting teachers, children aged 4-12, and their parents. PTFI provided resources that included funding and coordination with local education offices; LPMAK managed the program activities. Four new primary schools were built. The program served 1,226 students and trained 180 teachers.
To reach more beneficiaries, both partners are preparing the second stage of the program for 2012-2017. Challenges in implementing an education program in Mimika are geographic location--most of students live in remote areas-and that many schools in Mimika do not have classrooms, teachers, or basic facilities. As a result, the children lose interest in going to school or they drop out of school to assist their families in household and agricultural activities.
PTFI, which operates in the Mimika District, is a multinational mining company that produces concentrates containing copper, gold, and silver. Its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs focus on the environment, the economy, and social development in Papua. LPMAK is a nonprofit organization working on education, health, culture and religion, and economic development for the benefit of seven indigenous groups living in or near PTFI's work area. The two major beneficiaries are the traditional land-rights owners: the Amungme, concentrated in the highlands, and the Komoro, who live mainly in the lowlands.