The term school comes from the French “escole”, which means the playground. It means a school is a very comfortable and enjoyable place for learning and playing or playing and learning.

Creating a comfortable school may start from child-friendly classrooms, which are classrooms that support the learning process in which children actively develop their potentials in an enjoyable manner.

This is what has been happening in SDN 007 Teluk Paman, Kecamatan Kampar Kiri, Kabupaten Kampar, Riau. This Tanoto Foundation’s partner school is striving to create a comfortable school, by among others creating classroom gardens, utilizing used materials as learning aids, up to improving the quality of classroom management.

In the first grade for example, there are various paintings and displays that adorn the walls of the classroom. Not only that, the classroom is also painted with bright colors, in accordance with children themes. Various works of the children are also on display to foster the pride and confidence of the children.

“We make this classroom child friendly so that the students may feel at home and their confidence grows through the rewards we give, such as awarding stars to students that will be posted on the wall and can be seen by all students. This will make the students compete more creatively and be more daring in coming forward in order to get the stars, “said Mrs. Isneini, S. Pd, grade 1 teacher of SDN 007 Teluk Paman.

Mrs. Isneini gets this idea of creating a child-friendly classroom from the training provided by Tanoto Foundation. The results of the training on classroom management are also shared with the other teachers of SDN 007 Teluk Paman, so that they are able to mentor the students to be creative in their respective classrooms.

As a result, all the classrooms of SDN 007 Teluk Paman are not only places for learning, but also for showcasing the students’ works or portfolios. “My hope is that the students feel more comfortable in the learning process so that they dare to come forward and be more creative than before,” said Mrs. Isneini.

This article is written by Leo Fariddian Sunarya, Tanoto Foundation Riau.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017, thousands of students from elementary schools in Kecamatan Pangean gathered at Koto Pangean Square, Kabupaten Kuantan Singingi (Kuansing). Little Doctors from Tanoto Foundation’s partner schools were seen among them standing in neat rows.

Those children were participating in a mass tooth brushing activity held by the Indonesian Dentist Association (Persatuan Dokter Gigi Indonesia/PDGI) Kuansing Branch. This activity also received support from Tanoto Foundation.

The event was opened by Kuansing’s Secretary of Health Office, Helmi Ruspandi, S. Sos, MPH, “Dentists should not only perform their duties at home or practice offices, but they should  also meet directly with the community, gathering complaints existing in the community so that such effort may enable the achievement of Kuansing caries-free program by 2030. For this effort, we thank the various parties who have enabled this activity to be held,” he said.

Appreciation was also expressed by Acting Camat (Head) of Kecamatan Pangean, Irhandi, S.Sos. “Congratulation on the holding of this mass tooth brushing activity. I hope educative activities on dental and oral (mouth) health can continue to be held by PDGI at the community, family, as well as school levels. I hope managers of the schools can continue to actively help monitor the dental and oral health of their students. ”

Meanwhile, Chairman of PDGI of Kabupaten Kuansing, Arni Suharti, mentioned that this activity was made possible due to cooperation between the District Government, PDGI and Tanoto Foundation.

“These series of activities consist of 21 Day Morning and Evening Tooth Brushing program, followed by initial and final check-ups of the caries state of the children’s teeth at Kuansing. We hope that after these activities, the managers of the schools will yet coordinate with PDGI to continuously hold activities related to the maintenance of dental and oral health,” said Arni Suharti.

This article is written by Indra Setiawan, Tanoto Foundation Riau

Life is a challenge and we must have the courage to face it, including the first one encountered in life. That’s what I felt when the Arjuna Team, the team of electric car students of Universitas Gadjah Mada, planned to join the Japan Student Formula competition for electric car category.

Participating in the competition in the Sakura Country was the first experience for me and the team members, because up to that time the Arjuna Team has only competed at national level competitions. The Arjuna Team wanted to reach the next level up by participating in international competitions. The Japan Student Formula was a competition that has been targeted since two years ago.

The first experience is not always easy. When we started, we did not know who to ask, because up to that time no team from Indonesia has ever participated in this competition.

So, ours was the first team from Indonesia to participate in the Japan Student Formula for electric car category. Not only we had to face technical issues, we also faced financial problems, because we had to go with quite a large number of members, namely 24 persons. However, we had the belief that every effort made full-heartedly was going to produce results. We finally got sponsorships to support our travel, one of which was from Tanoto Foundation.

When I arrived in Japan, I immediately made various observations of this country, both of the neighborhood where I stayed as well as at the paddock.

I learned a lot from teams of other countries. I discussed with them about the technology choices they have adopted up to the various rules of the competition, which were not all listed in the written rules.

It was fun to be able to acquire new knowledge. The fifth generation electric car that we have designed eventually entered the competition. Arjuna 5 car could travel up to 80 kilometers with a speed of 50 km / hour at each battery charging. The jury gave an appreciation to our car which participated in the competition for the first time. Our car also managed to pass through two stages of inspection from the electronic and mechanical sides.

We also participated in a static event comprising business logic presentations. We competed against 115 teams from various countries and the Arjuna Team successfully won the “Best Presentation for Overseas Participant”. We were proud to be a representative of Indonesia and to have achieved the best result.

I hope to be able to continue what I have pioneered up to now. And I hope that in the future I can be involved in the manufacture of electric cars in Indonesia. Considering what I have experienced in the Japan Student Formula competition, Indonesia can do much in adopting this environmentally friendly vehicle technology.

I also have a souvenir for my friends in Indonesia, which are tips for achieving success outside the academic field. First, do not give up easily. Never give up without a fight. Frankly, we started from scratch. But we never lost the will to go on. We utilized internet technology to search for data about the registration procedure up to the tips for joining the Japan Student Formula competition. It turned out that we could get through it well.

Second, make the most of your college days. Studying is not limited to learning in the classroom. Being a student is an opportunity to gain access to activities for self-potential development. Besides participating in an international competition, I also participate in Tanoto Scholars Association (TSA) activities which are useful for supporting my self-development. Development of soft skills such as public speaking skill in TSA has been very useful when I had to work together with other people in the Arjuna Team.

Third, do not be afraid to have a dream. No matter how high your dream is, there will always be a way to make it happen, as long as you are willing to make the effort full-heartedly.

Written by Fathian Hafiz Aulia, Tanoto Scholar from Universitas Gadjah Mada