Provide Skills for Indonesian Unemployed Youth

After searching for funds to keep the Vocational Training Center (VTC) open, help finally came from the Priscilla Hall Memorial Foundation (PHMF) who has generously donated the operational costs of the VTC for one term (three months). Not wanting to waste this great opportunity, a new system was built for the VTC classes, called the “VTC PHMF Program”. Clear guidelines for tutors and staffs were made to make the work of the staffs and tutors more efficient.  Monthly reports were written, consisting of students and tutors attendance along with the material being taught, which were submitted to the VTC Coordinator every Monday. Thus, we can immediately provide guidance and solutions if any problem occurs. Material preparation including repairs of sewing machines, orientation with the students and tutors to explain the new systems and rules were held to make VTC more efficient. “Kartu Miskin” _ a certificate for poor people _ became the main requirement to enroll in the VTC so that we were sure to have students who really needed this training. After all the preparation, we finally opened the “VTC PHMF” new classes on May 14th, 2012!

English Classes, Job Seeking Skills Classes, Sewing Classes and Computer Classes were open to accommodate youth needs around the area. The English Classes consist of 3 normal English Classes and 2 English Classes specifically for Training of Trainers (TOT). The Computer Classes also consist of 3 normal Computer Classes and 2 Computer Classes for Training of Trainers (TOT). The Sewing Classes consist of Dress Making and Craft Classes with 2 classes opened and Job Seeking Skills Class has one class open. All in all, we are providing classes for 207 students in the VTC PHMF! 

And the good news keeps coming: Jacqueline Lee, GlobalGiving’s representative in Southeast Asia for 2012 visited our project area in Cipanas and also the YUM Head Office in Jakarta on July 16th and 17th, 2012. It was an amazing visit for two days! We had an hour meeting with YUM staff in Jakarta to talk about NGOs in Indonesia, our projects, and our experiences with GlobalGiving. The day after, we went to Cipanas to visit the Cipanas YUM Village where Jacqueline could see our Library Program and our VTC program (both up on GlobalGiving). Our children in the library were really excited to welcome her and so were the students in the VTC. Jacqueline talked with our librarian about activities in the library, observed the children’s activities (they were making a school timetable) and admired the drawing activities carried out in the library. We also showed her our facilities at the Cipanas YUM Village which consists of a library, dormitories, main hall, VTC and organic farm. 

After that, Jacqueline visited our newly funded VTC, attending the sewing classes and computer classes for TOT. We had an interesting interview with students in the sewing classes and also made a fun video with them. The students were very happy with her because interacting with foreign visitors is always a great experience for them. Moreover, Ita, one of our tutors who is also one of the orphaned children still living in YUM Cipanas, had the opportunity to be interviewed by Jacqueline. Shyly, she tried to answer the questions posed by Jacqueline and shared about why she wanted to teach at the VTC as well as her dreams to continue her education to university. Hopefully through VTC PHMF and GlobalGiving, we can help her dreams come true and also help many unemployed youths in Cipanas to find a job.

In addition to visiting our projects in Cipanas YUM Village, Jacqueline also visited the community around the center and saw the many small businesses that were there. We visited a home-based business making Tempeh, an Indonesian traditional food made of soybeans, visited the koi fish farm and the mushroom factory. It was a very pleasant experience. We are very pleased with this visit and really appreciate the certificate given to us certifying our successful completion of GlobalGiving’s due diligence process as well as being in good standing as a member of GlobalGiving’s community. 

We would like to thank everyone who has donated to our Vocational Training Center in Cipanas, as well as all friends of YUM and we would also like to especially thank Jacqueline Lee from GlobalGiving who kindly came and visited us. Hopefully we can always give the best help for the children, youths and community around the Cipanas YUM Village. As an end note, we would love to welcome you if you wish to organize students/volunteer camps at our community center, learn about our organic farm, or just to visit the center and our surroundings. Please email aris@yumindonesia.org if you are interested.

Thank you!!!