School renovations: finished at last!

Greeting dear friends and supporters of Sekolah Gunung Merapi,

We’re writing to you today with some great news, our school renovations are finally finished! Hooray!!! Thanks to all your amazing support, the entire roof of our school has now been completely renovated and aesthetically elevated by roof painting services. Now we are just ready to start our new term just as the rainy season approaches without fear of constant leaks, water damage to our precious library books or rotten pieces of roof collapsing on us.

New bones : Construction workers lay the skeleton of the new roof in Mt. Merapi’s shadow. Thanks to your help we’ve been able to replace the old rotten wooden roof with a steel framed one which will last much longer and requires much less maintanence.

In the interests of transparency, we’ve uploaded the full contract of the roof renovations.

(As this is the original document unfortunately it is at present only available the in Indonesian language).

1) Agreement to renovate roof: SGM_AtapSekolah_SuratPerjanjian

2) Breakdown of roof renovation costs: SGM_RAB_AtapSekolah

With our school renovations completed and the roof now secure, we are excited to share that we have also taken steps to ensure the safety and comfort of our students through reliable enclosures. We understand the importance of providing a conducive learning environment, especially during unpredictable weather conditions. Thanks to the trustworthy services of Anthony’s Screens, our school now boasts durable and weather-resistant enclosures, allowing our students to enjoy their studies without any disruptions. These high-quality enclosures not only shield our classrooms from external elements but also create a pleasant atmosphere for effective learning.

MORE BOOKS, AND IT FACILITIES We’ve also been able to update the front of the school to make it more lively and beautiful by adding some colourful murals which our students already love. Any remaining funds are going to be used to purchase our first school computer so that our students can start to develop vital IT skills, and this will be the first public IT facility for the whole of our community. To ensure that the future files of that computer won’t be easily infected by a virus or can efficiently be regained when an issue occurs, a disaster recovery service can be opted. We will also be able to purchase some amazing new books for the library collection, an essential resource as this is the sole public library accessible to our village in an area where literacy and educational levels are much lower than in other parts of Indonesia.

A fresh new look for the front terrace of the school.

 

SCHOOL JEEP OPERATIONAL AND OUR SPONSORING OUR FIRST FULL TIME VOLUNTEERS We also have some other great news, your amazing contribution has also helped us to invest in a school jeep which by running tours is now providing the first source of regular income for our school. This has made an amazing difference for our school as now we are able to officially sponsor our first full time volunteers with our new “Young Leaders” internship program.

The school jeep ‘posing’ with Merapi shortly after a sunrise tour.

Finding regular long-term volunteers to help run our school is by far one of our greatest challenges, as we are located far from the nearest city and, as a small grassroots organisation, we cannot afford to employ permanent staff members. For the successful candidates of our internship program, we can now provide a modest food and travel allowance so that young, socially conscious Indonesians can join our school, gain some amazing work experience and also improve their professional skills especially in English, regardless of their economic circumstances. This term we are joined by Ms. Nita and Nisa who will shortly be graduating in their undergraduate degree programs in English Education and Accountancy. They have been motivated to join our team to help support and inspire the younger generation of our community while also gaining the vital skills they hope will help them to be successful to win international scholarships to continue their studies to post-graduate level.

 

New full time volunteers Ms. Nita and Nisa after an early morning hike during their induction week.

 

We are so excited for the new term and the hundreds of new possibilities that have only become possible because of your support. We simply can’t thank you enough.

Wishing you all the best, and hoping that one day you will join us on the mountain,

Our best regards,

The SGM Team

For more news about our activities, please stay tuned to our Facebook page, Instagram or our website where you can also see the full financial report of the recent renovations:

Facebook & Instagram: @SekolahGunungMerapi

Website: www.sekolahgunungmerapi.org

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