Hasan Azhary never imagined he’d be living in a slum in North Jakarta. He went to Jakarta in 1995 to study at a university but, short on funds, he transferred to an Islamic school. He was able to study there on one condition: He had to help teach the Koran to elementary schoolchildren. Then the school asked him to move to the Penjaringan district of Jakarta to teach the Koran there. The area is home to fishermen, laborers and factory workers, mostly uneducated. Children there can often be found begging or singing on the streets or sometimes stealing from the fish market.
It was not an easy task. Azhary, 35, taught at the mosque because there was no other place. It took three years for him to get the children and their parents interested in the lessons. In 2006 he obtained help from the Wadah Titian Harapan Foundation to build a school. The school now has 324 children, and he is helped by 14 tutors, all volunteers.
The foundation was pioneered by Anie Hashim Djojohadikusumo almost 25 years ago. She’s the wife of tycoon Hashim Djojohadikusumo; FORBES ASIA estimated his fortune at $790 million in November, ranking him 32nd richest in Indonesia. She says many charities focus on giving money or food without monitoring the results. “This type of charity will teach these people only to beg, because they realize that they will receive food and money every time there is a festivity or ceremony.” The foundation gives money and food but is also directly involved in developing communities by building schools, providing books and holding small events to attract parents and children to become involved in the activities. “We realize that we can’t depend on the parents since they have to make a living,” says Retnaning Tyas, who chairs Wadah. “That’s why we assist their children, so they can enjoy what they should as a child.”
Says Anie, “I used to think that giving money or food is the best way to help less fortunate people, but then I realized that it was only temporary help.” Since then community development has been her main concern. People living in slum areas are often marginalized because of what they do for a living, she says, adding that they are often trapped in a situation that forces them to survive day to day. “These people often don’t have the chance to prove themselves,” she says.
The foundation focuses on helping women and families in poor communities, and Penjaringan is one of seven communities that it is helping around the country, often with technical expertise and grants. Wadah, which means “place,” also helps with disaster relief. A community getting help must already have an established program and leaders. In some cases the foundation must be on the watch for phony activities set up only to get funding. Once a community meets the criteria, Wadah will “help them by maintaining existing programs and developing new programs,” says Anie. “We hope that those that are helped today can deliver the same help to others in the future.”
Each community has a coordinator who lives there, manages the programs and acts as a mentor, handling problems ranging from finding jobs to resolving family matters. These coordinators keep in touch with Wadah and submit a monthly report. In return the foundation provides training in areas such as management skills and English. It will even pay for them to go overseas to learn from volunteers in other countries. “We want to improve these communities, but we have to remember that our coordinators also need to enhance their knowledge and skills,” Anie explains.
Funds for the foundation largely come from Anie and her husband, although friends and colleagues also make donations. “We always ask these donors to clearly state how or where their contribution should be used, and Wadah will try to carry out their wishes,” she says. Another way to contribute is through a program called Giving Life-Changing Gifts. This is for anyone who wants to contribute from $1 to $420. Each category has its own goal. For example, a $10 contribution will help pay for tutorials for a school child for one month. A $120 contribution will help purchase a sewing machine for unemployed women so they can generate income, or it can be used to provide a month’s supply of medicine for a clinic.
When Wadah develops a health program, it builds small clinics and provides medical equipment. One of the programs supplies generators for electricity and provides land for clinics in Cibodas, West Java. The clinic is run by a midwife, who received a scholarship to continue her education in graduate school. For education programs, the foundation grants scholarships at levels ranging from childhood to university, to students in its network. It also helps buy books and build libraries. One such library is in Parung, Bogor. It started small, but after Wadah started its support, it became a two-story learning center with 24-hour Internet access and early childhood education facilities.
When it comes to disaster relief, the foundation has rebuilt schools on Nias Island and Sarang Gagak in West Sumatra after they were hit by earthquakes. It looks to put up buildings using simple earthquake-proof systems and has consulted with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency. To raise more awareness of issues such as poverty, illiteracy and human rights, Wadah held its third global gathering in March in Bali, following up on the success of previous gatherings in Jakarta and the Philippines. In the long run Wadah is seeking certification so that everything related to the foundation is accountable, part of its effort to go global. “We want to be more professional in terms of our ability to facilitate community development,” says Dewi Djarot, an advisor to the foundation. Plenty of other communities need help. “Everything we do right now is part of our responsibilities to God,” says Anie. “For all I know, we grow to serve others so that others may grow together with us.”
This was adapted from a story in FORBES INDONESIA, a licensee of Forbes Media.