Boundless Opportunities

Reach Out To Asia
Qatar-Titian Scholarship Fund
ROTA has been engaged in education projects in Bayat, Indonesia since 2006 when its emergency program
intervened to rebuild the schools in Bayat, Indonesia that were destroyed during the earthquake of 2005
in Java. The earthquake ripped through the island of Java killing 6,500 people and destroying homes and
buildings of over one million. The village of Bayat in Jogjakarta was one casualty of this disaster. With the
beginning of the school term at its heels, ROTA, together with its partner, Titian Foundation, moved quickly
to rebuild the kindergarten, primary and secondary school while also providing make-shift structures for the
interim. The completed schools, built to earthquake resistant specifications, benefits over 1,000 students
and also includes a hall for recreation activities, a sports ground, and a library/community learning center
which won first prize as best library in the Klaten region. Nearly 150 student volunteers from Qatar came to
Bayat in April 2007 to help in the construction of the school and beautification of the school grounds.
The Scholarship Fund
As part of ROTA’s commitment to provide further capacity building in Bayat, ROTA continues to work with
local communities to improve the quality of education in the region. The Qatar-Titian Scholarship Fund, which
facilitates financial aid for Bayat School students entering higher secondary school by covering all tuition
costs for three years, is one of the ways that ROTA has been involved. The reason behind providing tuition
for the full three years is to ensure that the scholarship recipient is able to complete his/her studies and
reduce the chance of dropping-out, a common occurrence in Bayat due to insecure financial resources of the
family as income is often dependent on ad-hoc seasonal employment.
Most students in Bayat come from poor families whose parents
are unable to read or write, and therefore, are unable to give their
children appropriate academic guidance or encouragement. Some
parents even consider it a burden to send their children. For this
reason, the program also provides ongoing mentoring to students
and families through professionals who monitor the performance
of scholarship recipients, liaise with parents and the school,
and offer the students counseling support to help them take full
advantage of the opportunities provided through education.
Selection for the Qatar-Titian scholarships is based on a meritorious and needs assessment criteria.
The specific criteria can also be provided by the donor organization. A Memoranda of Understanding
(MOU) signed between Titian Foundation and the parents of scholarship recipients stipulates the roles
and responsibilities of all parties to ensure that the management and commitments of the grant are fully
understood.