Tanoto Foundation Completes Second Jakarta Early Education Center
At the end of 2014, the Tanoto Foundation celebrated the completion of its second early childhood development center designed to serve the North Jakarta area. Basuki T. Purnama, governor of Jakarta, joined Anderson Tanoto, who represented his family’s foundation, at the inauguration ceremony. Mr. Purnama observed that one of the government’s focal points is investment in children’s education, and said that he was pleased to be able to partner with nonprofit groups such as the Tanoto Foundation, which plays a leading role in funding a variety of social services in Indonesia. The foundation, established by Indonesian-born self-made multibillionaire Sukanto Tanoto, provides medical assistance, infrastructure construction, public health and safety initiatives, and educational opportunities such as training for primary school teachers and scholarships for university students. Tanoto Foundation funding for the Bougenville Early Childhood Development Center provides for the construction of classrooms, dedicated spaces for special projects, furnishings, supplies, and equipment. The foundation’s work doesn’t stop there, however. As part of its capacity-building mission, it additionally channels money toward efforts that empower members of the local community to become economically self-sufficient, so that they can enable the long-term viability of the center. Anderson Tanoto, Sukanto Tanoto’s son, serves as a trustee of the foundation. Like his father, he believes that a high quality education is vital to the success of each individual child, and to Indonesian society as a whole. At the inauguration ceremony, Anderson Tanoto cited data similar to that provided in reports issued by organizations such as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). This data suggests that most human brain development takes place during the first years of life. UNICEF has stressed that the more support young children receive in their physical, cognitive, and social skills, the healthier, happier, and more productive they will be in later life. In addition to the two early education centers in Jakarta, the Tanoto Foundation has lent its assistance to hundreds of schools and child development centers throughout Sumatra’s under-resourced provinces.
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