The Foundation recently received this report from Harapan Project Unfortunately, Indonesia is a country of huge contrasts, depending on the province where we are located. This contrast can be seen not only in the economy of the local population but also in the fields of education and health care.

 Indonesia is divided in provinces, with a local government in each province which is independent and has also an independent budget to execute their task. This budget depends majorly in the incomes of the local government in terms of taxes.

 Travelling in Indonesia, you can feel that you are in completely different countries.

 In Indonesia there 34 provinces, Jakarta is listed in the top of the richest province, West Nusa Tengara where we are located is listed in the number 33 (the second most poor province in whole Indonesia)

West Nusa Tengara is composed of 2 islands: Lombok Island which is quite developed and Sumbawa Island (where we are) which is very poor comparing with Lombok. Therefore, the numbers representing the whole province of West Nusa Tengara don´t reflect the reality of Sumbawa, and even less of the district of Hu´u, where Harapan Project helps.

It is also remarkable that the big part of the humanitarian help is focused on the richest provinces, and not in the most needed ones. And there is a simple reason for that, the international humanitarian help comes from expat that are living in those provinces.

I always hear foreigners living in Bali saying “Bali has given me so much, and I want to give back to Bali” which it seems funny for me, as Bali is one the least province that needs help, as it is one of the most developed and rich one in whole Indonesia.

To better understand the problem of education in the district where Harapan Project helps, I would like to give you an example of the budget of the school and in particular, of the salary of the local teachers in the schools where we teach:

 Harapan Project teaches in 3 different schools, the village of Hu´u, the village of Ncangga and the village of Nangadoro. We use the facilities of the government. In the mornings they are used by the department of education and in the afternoon, we use them.

 I will give you an example:

 In the school of Nangadoro there 14 teachers and this is their salaries: –      

2 teachers receive the minimal salary of the province, this is 2.150.00 IDR per month.

 12 teachers receive a salary of 250.000 IDR every 4 months (which means that every month they receive 62.500 IDR 

 It is impossible for these 12 teachers to be able to focus on their task in education. This situation provokes that they are obligated to find side jobs as farmers to be able to live and subsist, prioritizing their side jobs. Therefore, they are always absent at school. The children of Nangadoro school have very rarely teachers in the mornings to teach them.

 Why they receive this salary?

Because of the budget of the department of education in the district of Hu´u.

 Also, the conditions of the facilities of the schools depends totally on that budget.

 Thank you, Priscilla Hall Foundation, so much for your concern, and once again, thank you so much to you and all your team for your support during these years.