Aid in Action
Earthquake Damaged Schools Repaired
The damaged madrasah came to the attention of Conoco Phillips and USAID
Yogyakarta |
Friday, August 01, 2008
USAID/Conoco Phillips
Madrasah Tsanawiyah Al Falaah before the reconstruction
Madrasah Tsanawiyah Al Falaah is a junior secondary school located in the village of Wijirejo in Yogyakarta where in May 2006 became severely damaged by an earthquake measuring 6.3 SR. Thousands of students were left school-less without buildings to receive teaching and learning and extra-curricular activities. Al Falaah is a private madrasah or Islamic day school which usually offers the national curriculum in addition to a religious studies curriculum provided by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Private Islamic schools contribute significantly to the delivery of education services in Indonesia. Their role is particularly significant in improving access to education for children from low income families, especially girls. However, limited financing means that the quality of education these institutions deliver is low.
USAID/Conoco Phillips
Madrasah Tsanawiyah Al Falaah after the reconstruction
On September 2006, help from USAID/Indonesia arrived through its School Governance and Management project known as DBE1 (Decentralized Basic Education 1) which added the Education Response Alliance (ERA) which support school repair made possible with generous funding from ConocoPhillips. The madrasah, first of the 35 schools, came to the attention of donors by the district office for Religious Affairs because funds were unavailable to repair the school which was built in 1986 and is attended by 84 students and 20 teachers. The grant of $32,500 (Rp 298,750,000) repaired three classrooms, the teacher resource room and added one new classroom, and four bathrooms and all completed on August 14, 2008, and under schedule on budget. Unlike other school reconstruction, the USAID/DBE1 program introduced community-based participation into the whole process of reconstruction. Together with principal and teachers, the school committee, parents and community members were involved in the school design, selection of school reconstruction committee, monitoring, and preparation of reports.