3-Year Scholarship program provides quality education for 200 students

4-year Teacher Training Program boosts skills of 1,440 teaching staff

Doha, Qatar 14th of March:  Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) and Vodafone Qatar representatives have returned from Indonesia after witnessing first-hand the success of an educational project that is delivering long-term benefits to the people and communities of the Yogyakarta region.

A one-hour flight from the Indonesian capital Jakarta, the Bayat community's kindergarten, primary and secondary schools were destroyed in the devastating earthquakes which struck the region in 2005.

ROTA and its local partner Titian Foundation - have rebuilt the school buildings using earthquake resistant specifications. Additionally, a state-of-the-art vocational school, SMKN 1 ROTA Bayat School, has been constructed to teach teaching ceramics and Batik, the traditional technique where melted wax is used to draw on cloth and dyed in a variety of colors.  It is envisioned that the school will be a Centre of Excellence and a place where all the community of Bayat can benefit from.

"Our hugely successful partnership with Vodafone Qatar is giving thousands of young people the chance to receive a quality education for the long-term benefit of the children and communities of Yogyakarta," says ROTA Director Essa Al Mannai.

The Vodafone team was welcomed to Bayat School in a ceremony featuring traditional performances, before taking part in a Question & Answer session with students. The visit was so successful that Vodafone's commitment has extended to working closely with the local community through sending volunteers to transfer their knowledge,  help further develop these projects and build the local capacities.

"The barriers facing children in Yogyakarta are varied and daunting. Thanks to ROTA, Vodafone Qatar and the Titian Foundation, many Indonesian children will benefit from a high quality, effective education and the opportunity to shape their own future," adds Essa Al Mannai.

The long-term commitment of ROTA, Vodafone and Titian Foundation to increasing educational opportunities in Bayat extends to the Qatar-Titian Scholarship Fund, a 3-year scholarship program providing financial assistance for over 200 students in the SMKN 1 ROTA Bayat Vocational and other high schools students in the region.

"The ROTA/Vodafone scholarships have provided more than just opportunities for these students.  It was heart-warming when a teacher thanked us for giving hope to these students, and making them believe that they are not destined to a life of poverty.  These scholarships gave them the medium to pursue a better future," says Luisa Gentile, Head of CSR at Vodafone Qatar.

During their visit the Vodafone team had the chance to attend another joint ROTA-Vodafone initiative, the Teacher Quality Improvement training, an innovative teacher training program that is introducing a new approach to teaching in Indonesia. 

According to a national teacher competence assessment, less than half of Indonesian teachers fulfill the basic requirements for teacher quality. With the support of Vodafone Qatar, ROTA has developed a 4-year Teacher Quality Improvement (TQI) program to enhance the classroom skills of teachers across the region.

So far 90 teachers from Yogyakarta and Klaten district have completed the TQI Program, the first beneficiaries of an initiative that will provide instruction to 500 Head Masters, 1,440 teachers and 60 Ministry trainers by 2014.

"Our goal is that the TQI trained teachers will return to the classroom and implement a new set of skills and methods. As a result students will have a better quality of education and the improvement in teaching standards will influence teaching staff throughout Indonesia," says Essa Al Mannai.

For more details of ROTA's educational projects in Indonesia and other Asian countries, visit the www.reachouttoasia.org website.

- Ends -

About ROTA
Reach Out To Asia is a non-profit organization launched in December 2005 in Doha, Qatar, by Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, daughter of His Highness the Emir of Qatar. Operating under the auspices of the Qatar Foundation, ROTA is committed to providing high quality and relevant primary and secondary education, encouraging relationships among communities, creating safe learning environments and restoring education in crisis affected areas across Asia and around the world. ROTA envisions a world, where all young people have access to the education they need in order for them to realize their full potential and shape the development of their communities.

Further information on Reach Out To Asia can be found at: www.reachouttoasia.org.

About Qatar Foundation
Founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, and chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Misned, Qatar Foundation is a private, non-profit organization committed to the principle that a nation's greatest natural resource is its people. The headquarters of Qatar Foundation are located within its flagship project, Education City. A fourteen million square-metre campus, Education City is home to numerous progressive learning institutions and centers of research, including branch campuses of six of the world's leading universities, plus a cutting-edge science and technology park. Qatar Foundation also works to enhance the quality of life in Qatar by investing in 'Education, Science and Technology and Community Health and Development'.

For further information please contact:
Krikor Khatchikian
Senior Account Manager
Cohn&Wolfe Public Relations, Doha, Qatar
Telephone: +974 4428 3177 / +974 5576 3965
Email: krikor.khatchikian@cohnwolfeqatar.com  

© Press Release 2011