Dubai Cares, the UAE-based philanthropic establishment, launched a programme in Jakarta aimed at improving hygiene education activities in 450 schools in four Indonesian provinces.

A total of 90,000 schoolchildren in Indonesia will benefit from the program, launched in the provinces of Nusa Tenggara Timor, Papua, West Papua and South Sulawesi by Dubai Cares in partnership with the Government of Indonesia, UNICEF, Care International and Save the Children.

Known as WISE – ‘water, sanitation and hygiene in support of school empowerment’ – the programme will construct new sanitation, hand washing and water facilities, helping reduce a child's risk of disease and death, and support community-led initiatives to better manage water and sanitation activities.

Dubai Cares contributed approximately Dh20 million ($5.5 million) to the programme as part of its commitment to UN Millennium Development Goal 2 of attaining universal primary education.

“There are numerous factors which prevent children from going to school – poor water and sanitation is a critical one,” said Tariq Al Gurg, chief executive officer of Dubai Cares.

“In addition, the lack of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools threatens the wellbeing of those who do reach the classroom.”

Al Gurg added: “Dubai Cares is proactively focusing on the underlying factors that create barriers to learning. We believe this initiative is an example of how we can systematically remove such obstacles and create opportunities for better education and health.”

Physical construction of water and sanitation facilities will be complemented by training of teachers and community representatives on delivering effective hygiene education.

School committees will be supported to better manage available budgets to include water, sanitation and hygiene components, while the government’s national Healthy Schools Program (UKS) will also be revitalized.

In addition to the grant from Dubai Cares, UNICEF is contributing Dh11 million ($3 million) to the two-year programme along with Dh3.6 million ($1 million) each from Care International and Save the Children.

“While there has been much progress in improving access to sanitation across Indonesia in recent years, there are still thousands of children who remain at risk, especially in rural communities,” said UNICEF representative Angela Kearney.

“By partnering with Dubai Cares and the Government of Indonesia to ensure these basic services reach children in these areas we not only reduce the risk of disease and death, but also improve the quality of the educational environment – which in turn can prevent children dropping out of school,” she added. – TradeArabia News Service