Give An Education To A Trash Picker's Child

On Giving Tuesday, November 28 and throughout the month of December, XSProject invites you to make a donation to Give an Education to a Trash Picker’s Child to help fund our XSCollege Scholarship program.

Here are how your donations have benefited the children in our program since 2014!

In 2013, we informally started a “Pre Grade-1” class at the garbage dump as a place for the youngest children to go while their parents picked trash. That first year there were 15 children in the class. On February 14, 2014, when XSProject launched Give an Education to a Trash Picker’s Child on GlobalGiving, there were a lot of children at the garbage dump in Jakarta. Without an education they would grow up to be trash pickers like their parents.

That year, GlobalGiving’s donors gave almost $36,000 to fund our project. We hired an Kindergarten teacher for the Pre-Grade 1 class and began following the Indonesian curriculum.

Then we did a head count of all children who were of school age at the dump and began introducing the idea of a K-12 education to their parents- paid for by XSProject.

We learned tough lessons along the way. We chose to place the children in the Indonesian public-school system, so they could assimilate with students from different economic backgrounds. We had to provide vaccinations, health check-ups, eye and dental exams. Many needed eyeglasses after living in the smoke and pollution of the garbage dump all their lives. All of them needed uniforms, shoes, books, backpacks and even lunches.

That first year, we place 74 children in public school. We also determined that it would cost XSProject $30,000 to provide one trash picker’s child a K-12 education, including medical and school needs. Year after year, GlobalGiving’s amazing donors have helped fund our XSEducation program.

Now, as the students graduate from high school, we help them find employment. Like many big cities, Jakarta has lots of jobs, but only menial work for high school graduates. In 2016 XSProject placed Sari, a very bright student from the trash picker community in college. Now in her sophomore year she is studying Accounting and working at XSProject as a tutor in our after- school program helping our elementary students.  

This year, XSProject established the XSCollege Scholarship Fund for STEM and Medical Sciences studies. For students with exceptional high school grades and the determination to tackle college, we believe in their success. We’re asking for your help to fund this program.

In July, two young women joined Sari in college. For young people who have passion, dedication, and willingness to work, XSProject is the way for them to break the cycle of a trash picker’s life.  They are also role models to middle and high school students soon to graduate.   

On Giving Tuesday, November 28 and throughout the month of December, please consider a recurring or one-time donation to our project, Give an Education to a Trash Picker’s Child to fund our XSCollege Scholarship program. We need your help to raise $15,000 for our three college students to finish their degrees and launch their careers.  We are grateful for GlobalGiving’s support and we know if anyone can make this happen, GlobalGiving’s donors can. Thank you!

Next week, three young XSProject women from the Cirendeu garbage dump will be heading to college.

Sari will be entering her third year while Fitriyah and Nurlela will begin their first year. Not long ago, college was only a dream with no possibility for these girls from the trash picker community.

Nurlela knows firsthand how difficult it can be to find a job in Jakarta with just a high school education. After graduating high school, she wanted a job to help support her parents and two younger brothers. While a high school diploma is a huge step for a young person living in utter poverty, Nurlela learned it only delivered the most menial of occupations, making it impossible to improve her family’s condition.

Recently XSProject established a way forward for students with dreams of a college education. The XSCollege Scholarship Fund was started to make higher education a reality for youths wanting to study in STEM sciences and Nursing/Medical fields.  Students in this program, must keep good grades and work part time for XSProject.

Starting in July, all three young women are working as tutors in the XSEducation Program. Mentored by Miss Vicky, XSProject’s Early Education teacher, Sari, Fitriyah and Nurlela tutor the children, check homework, and are fast developing their own maturity, self-confidence, and sense of responsibility.

Fitriyah’s challenge is making sure her 10 first graders finish their homework before going to play. She says the most difficult subject for them is mathematics.  She helps them work through their lessons as group, making sure each student understands and gets the right answer. But, she says, teaching the children to read is also a challenge because she must work with each one individually.  In a very short time, Fitriyah has matured, learned to keep the students focused and takes her tutoring responsibilities seriously.

Nurlela is the tutor for the second- grade students. Second graders start to learn English in school and Nurlela learned quickly the children need a lot of tutoring in this subject. They also struggle with mathematics. She says tutoring second grade students gives her the opportunity to practice patience and the will to not give up on “her kids”. No matter how difficult, she is not giving up on a single student because she knows that it will mean a better future for each child. She alerted XSProject that some of her students did not get enough to eat and what they ate was not nutritious.  Parents often let the children eat when and what they want so providing an after-school snack is essential.

Sari, our third-year college student has a handful with 11 third graders. At first, she lacked confidence in her ability to control the students. Then she learned that the parents did not encourage the children to complete their homework or take school seriously. Once she understood that, she became determined to have the children’s respect, and have them listen and obey her.

Miss Vicky is happy to have the help of three tutors She has more time to work on homework with the older students. The college students are learning responsibility and earning their own money for bus fare and their cell phone minutes. Their parents are proud of them and their younger brothers and sisters have amazing role models.

Your support of the XSCollege Scholarship Fund with a one time or recurring monthly donations will provide college degrees in STEM and the Nursing/Medical fields to exceptional students from the Cirendeu trash picker community.