In Indonesia, the expression gotong royong means offering assistance, sharing burdens and working with others. Throughout our more than 80 years in Indonesia, Chevron has embraced gotong royong by working with communities to provide disaster relief and help in rebuilding, small business and enterprise development, education and vocational training, health services, and environmental conservation. Our community development programs have delivered more than $120 million in assistance.
Education and Vocational Training
The first community engagement program offered by PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia took place in 1957, when CPI donated a building to house the first state senior high school in Pekanbaru, Riau. It still is one of Pekanbaru's most prestigious schools.
CPI supports the education of the Sakai people, an indigenous tribe in Riau. CPI supplies books, provides incentives for teachers and offers educational grants to thousands of Sakai children through our Beasiswa Anak Asuh Sakai (Sakai Foster Children Scholarship) program. In addition, the Darmasiswa Chevron Riau scholarship program allows the brightest students in Riau to pursue higher education in universities across Indonesia.
CPI built and sponsors Riau Caltex Polytechnic, the province's first polytechnic university. Course curriculum matches the province's business needs and contributes to its economic growth. More than 880 students have graduated from the university. About 85 percent found jobs within three months of graduation.
In West Java, Chevron's Darajat geothermal operations gave new computers to the Nurul Muttaqin Vocational High School in Garut. Previously, the children had to travel 12 miles (20 km) to the district capital to use computers.
In East Kalimantan, we established a school development program. The program works to improve the quality of the education in remote regions so that schools meet national quality standards.
Health Services
Chevron supports programs that fight HIV/AIDS and other diseases, promotes health care, and supports health education.
To help fight HIV/AIDS in Indonesia, we provided $5 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Indonesia. The Global Fund works with the government of Indonesia to provide health education.
We also established the "I Wanna Live" HIV/AIDS awareness campaign with Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa, an anti–drug abuse group, and Media Indonesia, one of Indonesia's leading media companies. The campaign is aimed at junior and high school students and teachers in West Java.
To improve the quality of life in Sumatra, we support a mobile health service that provides health care, vaccinations and medical training for residents in 30 remote villages.
In a remote area of West Java, we helped build an emergency care unit for people in the area, especially for pregnant women who require special treatment during delivery. Previously, patients had to travel 25 miles (40 km) to the nearest clinic.
We take part in several other health initiatives:
- Our employees volunteer and donate during Indonesian Red Cross blood drives.
- We help fund treatment for underprivileged cancer patients and children with facial deformities.
- We help provide adequate sanitation facilities for the homes of poor families in Jakarta.
In Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, we started the Domestic Waste Management program in 2005. The project has been adopted by the municipality of Balikpapan and promotes health.
Small Business and Micro-Enterprise Development
Chevron supports programs that offer training in agriculture, fisheries and running a business from home. The newest of these is Local Business Development, which helps small companies and cooperatives in Sumatra, East Kalimantan and West Java. More than 4,600 small local businesses and cooperatives have participated in workshops. This program has helped participants increase the value of their businesses from $1.3 million in 2001 to more than $123 million in 2010.
In East Kalimantan and West Java, Chevron partnered with Permodalan Nasional Madani and Baitul Mal Muamalat to create the Community Enterprise Development Program. This program strengthens community-based business groups, individuals and owners of small shops. The program offers loans through a micro-finance institution and provides business management training.
In Salak and Darajat, West Java, Chevron helped establish a local farmers association in several villages. The farmers turned idle land into crops. Basic agricultural management assistance also was provided to sheep breeders in Darajat, West Java.
In West Java and East Kalimantan, we sponsor a series of programs called Initiative Engage Execute Empower. Under this umbrella, a number of projects promote local economic growth.
Programs in West Java include one focused on forest conservation and another that helps entrepreneurs start small and medium business.
In East Kalimantan, we created the Coastal Community Empowerment program to support sustainable economic development in local coastal communities and the region as a whole.
Disaster Relief and Rehabilitation
Following natural disasters, Chevron has been quick to step in to help communities recover and rebuild.
In 2009, many parts of West Sumatra and West Java were affected by a series of devastating earthquakes. Using the experience we gained from our relief efforts following previous disasters in Indonesia, we launched the Chevron Earthquake Recovery Initiative. In addition to providing emergency relief, the initiative focuses on recovery and reconstruction of schools.
We set up a $1.7 million school rehabilitation program and partnered with national and local governments and nongovernmental organizations to rebuild three severely damaged schools in West Java.
A state-run elementary school in West Sumatra, virtually destroyed by an earthquake, was rebuilt with money donated by our employees and then matched by the company.
Chevron Aceh Recovery Initiative
Following the 2004 tsunami, which hit Indonesia particularly hard, Chevron responded to the needs of victims in Aceh and Nias with the Chevron Aceh Recovery Initiative.
One of the initiative's long-term programs focused on providing vocational skills and economic development opportunities for residents of Aceh. More than 300 students completed their studies at Riau Caltex Polytechnics. A three-month program provided training in road and home construction, electrical installation, and computer applications. About 80 percent of the graduates are now employed in Aceh, and several have started their own businesses, employing others.
Chevron also launched a project to develop a polytechnic institution in Aceh, the Politeknik Aceh, in partnership with the government of Aceh, the Aceh-Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The goal is to contribute to long-term economic development in Aceh. Construction began in 2007, and the Politeknik Aceh started its first academic year in 2008. On February 23, 2009, the polytechnic was officially opened by Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The college offers courses in five disciplines that are essential to the industrial sector—electronics engineering, robotics, engineering, information technology and accounting.
Chevron and our partner Swiss Contact also support the Business Startup Establishment project in Aceh that aims to start 1,200 micro enterprises and small businesses, creating jobs for 6,000 people. The project is an integrated micro-credit program that provides capital, training and business planning support for local entrepreneurs.
Updated: March 2011
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