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At the end of this year, Mahija Parahita Nusantara Foundation strengthened its commitment to support the education of the recycling hero community through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) related to operational funding support and infrastructure development as well as basic training for 5 (five) non-formal schools spread in areas around DKI Jakarta, Bogor, Depok and Bekasi (Jabodetabek).

"Building Hope Indonesia is an educational support program for the children of the recycling heroes community so that they are able to be sustainably independent and have access to education that is needed for the future of the younger generation. The program aims to develop, support and provide infrastructure to the post-consumption PET bottle collection community to ensure higher school completion rates as well as build values and character for a resilient generation in the future." explained Suharji Gasali, Vice Chairman of Mahija Parahita Nusantara Foundation.

This year, Mahija Parahita Nusantara has signed a Joint Understanding with five schools namely Air Care, Oki Learning School, Luminare-Domus School, Angkol School, and Swara Peduli. Thus, there are 7 (seven) non-formal schools that have been adopted by Mahija Parahita Nusantara through the Building Indonesia's Hope program. In addition, on this occasion the establishment of Yayasan Rangkul Peduli Sesama and Yayasan Cahaya Rumah Ilmu Indonesia to assist non-formal schools in having legality so that they can develop in academic and administrative functions.

"We really appreciate Mahija Parahita Nusantara's commitment to support non-formal schools, not only in terms of operations but also infrastructure and human resource development through training and mentoring. It is hoped that this support can increase learner participation in every level of education because the number of learners decreases consistently once participants enter higher education levels. With this support, we also hope to open up opportunities to collaborate with industry players so as to be able to open up other partnership opportunities." said Sotar, a representative from KDM School.

In accordance with the government's target to provide freedom of access for the underprivileged to proper education, Mahija Parahita Nusantara initiated school adoption, scholarships, mobile schools and provided access to job training for children of the recycling hero community. It is targeted that by 2024, more than 4,000 students can benefit from this program.

Yayasan Mahija Parahita Nusantara is a non-profit organization committed to improving the welfare of informal sector workers in waste management, established in 2021 through a joint initiative of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Indonesia and Dynapack Asia. Mahija Parahita Nusantara has now grown and developed by partnering with 24 Collection Centers across Indonesia and embracing more than 30,000 recycling heroes (post-consumption PET bottle collectors).

"Supporting non-formal schools is one of our commitments to provide a better standard of living for the community of used PET bottle collectors. We believe that with the opportunity to get an education, children in waste picker communities can become agents of positive change in society and be able to create sustainable change," Suharji concluded.