Six years’ work experience in Singapore leads Sarifah to become an English teacher for pre school children.  Moreover, various training sessions from Tanoto Foundation boost her confidence in teaching children in the rural areas of Pangkalan Kerinci, Pelalawan District, Riau.

Sarifah’s ability to use English was acquired while she worked in Singapore.  While working, she learned how to care for and teach pre-school children.  In addition, she also took English courses to improve her ability.

Upon returning from Singapore in 2014, Sarifah received an offer from the management of Asian Agri to teach English in Taman Penitipan Anak/TPA (Child Day Care Centers) located in the surroundings of oil palm plantations.  Sarifah gladly received the offer.

“Aside from the additional income for the family, I also like to interact with children.  I try to put into practice what I learned in Singapore to the children here,” said Sarifah.

Sarifah started to work immediately the next day.  “Actually, there are many people here who can speak English.  In addition, they have high education.  But often, their grammar needs to be improved. So, I feel compelled to use my knowledge to teach these children.”

Sarifah teaches the children as if they were her own.

“When these children do not meet me for a week, they start looking for me. And, they often forget the lessons that I have taught previously.  Therefore, I visit them frequently and always spend more time to teach them,” said Sarifah.

Every day, Sarifah rotates her visit to the five TPAs in the area of Rantau Baru, Pangkalan Kerinci.  Each TPA can accommodate up to 30 children. “Teaching these children can be challenging at times. Because of their age, sometimes as young as one year old, they are often fussy and cranky.  But I have my own techniques to make them happily follow what I say. I learned this when I worked in Singapore.”

Not only depending on her work experience in Singapore, Sarifah is supported by Tanoto Foundation. She was trained on the utilization of used materials as teaching media and on developing teaching syllabus for the education of pre school children.

Now Sarifah is even more excited in guiding the children to learn the language.  Not only she could regularly channel her passion in teaching and working with children, she is proud when the children of this rural area are able to speak English.

Some time ago we asked Tanoto Scholars about the benefits they get after they are awarded with Tanoto Foundation’s scholarships. Let’s see what they say.

1. Financial Support

Financial support is enjoyed by all Tanoto Foundation’s scholarship recipients. The aim is to ease the Scholar’s family’s or parent’s burden.

#garagaraTF Udah ngga perlu pusing sama uang kuliah, apalagi skemanya udah pakai UKT yg jatuhnya lebih mahal drpd skema SPMA. All coverage ?

— Intan Ravanza R (@aznavaravanza) November 20, 2016

2. Character Building

You might not get this benefit when you are a scholarship recipient of another institution. In addition to financial support, we also provide training to build Tanoto Scholars’ skills such as public speaking or leadership.

#garagaraTF aku belajar buat pede ngomong d depan umum, karena @tanotoeducation memfasilitasi pelatihan public speaking buat T-Scholars

— Marie Azalea (@MarieAzalea) November 20, 2016

3. Motivation

All Tanoto Scholars have a close relationship with each other. Through social media they share information or their achievements. These types of encouragement motivate the Scholars to continue to excel.

Moodnya belajar nya nambahnambah #garagaraTF malu sama anak2 TF lainnya kalau sering ngeluh&malas!

— Dinda intan suri (@dindaintan5) November 20, 2016

4. Social awareness

We give full support for social activities undertaken by Tanoto Scholars. This is in line with the belief of our founder, Sukanto Tanoto to “pay it forward.” Tanoto Scholars are encouraged to give back to their communities.

Sukanto Tanoto “Pay it forward!”

Bisa ketemu anak-anak Durin Tonggal untuk kegiatan bina desa #garagaraTFpic.twitter.com/cNTygaQ2Z3

— Jane Catherine (@JaneMatanari) November 20, 2016

#garagaraTF saya bisa berdiri di depan mereka menceriakan hari bersama dengan wawasan dan kreatifitas para scholars ?pic.twitter.com/YVBv6QUJzV

— Anggina Putri Pane (@angginapp) November 20, 2016

5. Networking

We work together with 35 universities in Indonesia in awarding the Tanoto Foundation’s Scholarships. During the annual event of Tanoto Scholars Gathering, the scholarship recipients gather together in Pangkalan Kerinci, Riau, to receive different training sessions and to get to know each other better.

#garagaraTF @tanotoeducation bisa tau temen-temen sebanyak ini meskipun nggak kenal semua. But they’re da boom. pic.twitter.com/O5r0AHcGpF

— Muhamar prayogi (@upsmuhamar) November 20, 2016

6. Meeting Inspirational Figures

To develop their skills, Tanoto Scholars are trained by the relevant field’s experts or leaders. Through these events, they get to meet those who can inspire them further.

Tidak hanya kak Anderson, tapi #garagaraTF saya juga bertemu dg org2 yg menginspirasi saya, seperti rektor UGM sampai Dirut bank BRI pic.twitter.com/6FhxrDeydC

— Obed Ryan Sihotang (@obedryan) November 20, 2016

7. Opportunities for Internships

In implementing our 3-pillar activities (Education, Empowerment, and Enhancement), we work together with our corporate partners, APRIL and Asian Agri Group. Through this collaboration, Tanoto Scholars have the opportunities to do internships at one of our corporate partners.

#garagaraTF bisa magang di @RAPP_Official pabrik kertas yang besar banget 🙂

— Judika Raja Gukguk (@judikargg) November 20, 2016

8. Be The Pride of Parents and Relatives

Obtaining Tanoto Foundation’s Scholarships is not an easy matter as the scholarships are highly in demand and have rigorous selection process. However, as long as you continue to try to get it, nothing is impossible 🙂

#garagaraTF bisa menempuh pendidikan sejauh ini, bisa tingkatkan derajat keluarga dan orang-orang sekitar. aamiin, thanks @tanotoeducation

— Huswa Hasan (@huswasia) November 20, 2016

Let’s be part of #tanotoscholars. There are so many benefits that you can get!

Coming from a humble background, Elia Veronika Sinaga holds a determination to improve her family’s living condition through education.  Currently, Elia is enrolling in the Agriculture Product Technology program of Jambi University’s Agriculture Technology Faculty.

Elia was born in Ujung Batu Rokan, Riau, on 24 Oktober 1996.  When she was ten years old, she and her family moved to Jambi because her father was accepted as a permanent oil palm laborer at PT Dasa Anugerah Sejati, one of Asian Agri’s subsidiary companies.  Her mother, meanwhile, assisted her father’s work as a non-permanent daily laborer.

As the second of five children, Elia understands very well her parents’ struggles to support the family. However, she is determined to continue her study.  She believes that education is the key that opens different  opportunities which subsequently will improve her future.

”My father and older sibling always push me to study diligently and continue my study to a higher level.  They hope that I can bring a change for the family in the future,” said Elia.

Elia has been able to maintain her academic performance since her days at primary school. She often represented her schools in various competitions.  For example, she supported her high school to take part in a Tanjung Jabung Barat District aptitude competition and won the second place prize. With these academic achievements, Elia felt confident to enroll in a university.

However, the beginning of her university years was difficult for Elia.  To support costs such as tuition  fee and cost of living, her father had to work extra hard to get bonus from the company.  Later on, her father asked Elia to seek for a scholarship in order to ease the family’s financial burden.

(Read: List of Non Binding Scholarships)

“My father is getting old. He is not as strong as before and might not be able to carry out extra work anymore. In the beginning I helped the family by selling minutes for mobile phones and doing small-scale online clothes business.  When I found out that Tanoto Foundation was opening the scholarship selection process, I did not waste this opportunity,” Elia recalled.

Elia managed to get a Tanoto Foundation National Champion Scholarship in 2016.  She is very thankful that now she can focus on her study without having to worry about the costs.  Not only that, she is also more motivated to maintain her academic grades.

(Read: : List of Binding Scholarships)

“If the academic grades a Tanoto Scholar falls below the requirements, the scholarships can be withdrawn,” said Elia.  “This is a motivation for me.  In addition to receiving financial support, I am even more challenged to maintain, or even increase my academic achievement.”

Elia is also motivated by her plans for the future. She aspires to work in one of the companies owned by Sukanto Tanoto. We at Tanoto Foundation also hope she will continue to study hard so she can achieve her goals and improve her life as well.