PRESS RELEASE

12 July, 2005, Jakarta. ISCO continues to deliver free education opportunities to over 1360 Indonesian underprivileged children.

What has now become an annual event; ISCO (Indonesian Sunshine Children Organization) will again hold their Annual Gathering, this time at Fantasy Island, Kota Wisata, Cibubur on Thursday, 14 July. As in past years, the children of the foundation and members from their families will come together to celebrate the success & achievement of the programme in recognizing the achievements of individuals. The proceeding are scheduled to start at 9.00am and include the presentation to outstanding students and the introduction of new sponsors whose contributions will allow an expansion of the successful education programme that already supports many hundreds of underprivileged children from poor families in several Indonesian cities.

This year’s event is somewhat special in that the programme which is operated by the foundation is now considered to have “come of age” and proved its effectiveness in bringing education to children who would otherwise have received none. The foundation has shown in its 6 years of operation that even if these children did get the opportunity to attend school, and with financial support for books and uniforms, it is not in itself enough to produce sustaining results. The foundation believes that children need more, and deserve more. The foundation supplements their educational sponsorship with the provision of specific personal development extracurricular activities through Activity Centres, monitoring the intellectual ability and development progress of each child, provides, where necessary, food supplements and vitamins for the children, examines their physical condition on a regular basis, and introduces the parents to healthy living and a clean environment.

ISCO is a non-profit NGO that was created in May 1999 by two long-term expatriates Pascal Lalanne and Josef Fuchs. It was the sight of the poor & destitute children who wander the city streets, begging at traffic congested corners that initially touched their hearts and stirred them to consider what could be done. It was clear to them that the devastating social impact resulting from the economic and monetary crisis that occurred in Indonesia in the late 1990’s was only going to see this situation worsen. Rather than simply donate money to a charity in the hope that others might bring about “some” changes, they devised a plan of action, and became personally active in the establishment of this foundation that they hoped would provide the chance to at least a few to break the hopelessness of a life in poverty. That plan has matured and developed over the last 6 years and clearly shows what can result.
For hundreds of Indonesia's poorest children, ISCO is the single reason that they can go to school and have an equal chance in life and dare to have dreams for their future.

With their own funds, they established ISCO. After 6 years the success is clearly evident that the plan works. Josef Fuchs’s remarks “We did not want to make ISCO too public or seek the involvement of others, outside our personal contacts, until we felt confident that it would be a success. We are now very confident that the concept is successful and invite others to copy the plan or further support ISCO in its effort. The goal is to bring education and creative personal development activity opportunities to ALL kids, irrespective of religious or ethnic background.” Josef is now hoping that others, especially local Indonesian companies and individuals will embrace a method to not only bring joys to children through education but to instill positive changes that will bring benefits to the whole society in which we all live.

Last year saw organization’s the first corporate sponsorships from Carrefour and UPS. Mr. Fuchs is highly appreciative of these companies and hopes that others, especially local Indonesian companies will realize that the government alone will not fix the problem. It is clear that the youth of today are the future of tomorrow and that corrective action is not the domain of “others”.

Josef has made invitations to several Ambassadors and other dignitaries to attend the 14 July event in order that news of the foundation’s success may spread to others, a proof that will no doubt be seen in reality through the faces of the children it directly affects.

SOME FACTS:

The Indonesian Sunshine Children Organization (ISCO) is an independent, non-government organization established in 1999 when 58 children in 2 Jakarta slums entered the programme. The school year recently ended 1160 children, in 11 regions in Jakarta, Surabaya & Medan received support from ISCO which has a permanent staff of 25. The New Year’s enrolment will increase the number to 1360 children.

The foundation’s programme involves 4 main areas which it sees as crucial to providing the best help to the sponsored children:

CHILDREN’S EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT
This program is ISCO’s main program for giving full educational support to marginalised children. Beginning from a very young age (pre-school where possible) through to secondary level, ISCO makes sure that these children can and do go to school each day, and supports them with school fees, uniforms and textbooks. ISCO maintains good relationships with teachers and school authorities, as well as with parents and monitors the intellectual ability and development of each child in order to be able to see each child have the chance to grow up to become a responsible and productive citizen.

CHILDREN’S ACTIVITY CENTERS
ISCO realizes that in order to achieve its goals, providing formal schooling alone for these marginalised children is not adequate. Reinforcement in the areas of personal development, living values, creativity and leadership is required. For this reason, ISCO sets up Children’s Activity Centres in each neighbourhood where it operates. Children are able to visit these Activity Centres after school to do some interesting and beneficial activities, instead of going to the streets or being forced to work by their parents. ISCO provides tutors, educational materials, arts and crafts activities, as well as remedial classes for children who have difficulties in certain school subjects.

CHILDREN’S HEALTH, NUTRITION AND PROTECTION
After two years of operation, ISCO decided to add this important program to its main education program, because more and more children were found to be under-nourished and vulnerable to illness, which consequently affected their school performance. ISCO provides food supplements and vitamins for the children, examines their physical condition on a regular basis, and introduces the parents to healthy living and a clean environment. The Children’s Protection Program, introduced in 2003, is an important extension to the ISCO programme, as indications of child abuse or domestic violence have become more apparent.

Through a network of field teams located in some of the worst affected neighbourhoods of Indonesia’s cities, the organization strives to help marginal communities, those who live in poverty, and those who are most deeply suffering due to the ongoing crisis. ISCO’s particular focus is the children of these families, who face serious obstacles in their struggle to achieve the productive futures that are accepted as normal by most middle class families. ISCO believes that all children deserve the chance to achieve their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens and leaders of Indonesia.

CHILD MONITORING, RECORDS AND DOCUMENTATION
ISCO monitors each child’s educational development progress very closely. To facilitate this, ISCO ensures that all records, school reports, tutors’ notes, rewards and health records are filed carefully. ISCO also maintains photographs and important documents in relation to the child’s chance for better future. ISCO believes that each child has the right to know his or her identity, historical background, and memory of his or her childhood.

Further information is available from:
Indonesian Sunshine Children Organization (ISCO)
Jalan Anggrek Nelly Murni VIII A, No.43 , Slipi, Jakarta 11410, Indonesia
Tel / Fax : 62-21-5493238 , Email: isco@iscofoundation.org , Web: www.iscofoundation.org

Support for ISCO:

Issued by authority of the Board of ISCO