One of our favorite times of the year is when we meet students under KIDS Scholarship Program and distribute the supplies. It is hard to believe that all active students under the KIDS Scholarship program are now studying at the university.
This year, YKIP sponsored nine students under the scholarship program after the graduation of Wawan from Institut Seni Indonesia early this year. Of the nine students, four are in the fourth year of university, while the youngest student in this program has just finished her campus orientation at Universitas Udayana.
YKIP distributed the supplies to those in the first to the third year. YKIP did not give school supplies to the students in the fourth year. Instead, they will get reimbursement for their final assignment-related expenses. The supplies consist of two reams of A4 paper, pens, highlighters, and a binder with its paper. We hope that the supplies will help them to study. All students also get allowances to buy bags and shoes for the new academic year. For those who are showing excellence in the academic and non-academic fields, YKIP awards them a prize and a certificate of acknowledgment. Seeing the students’ smiles after receiving their supplies is a pleasure, and listening to their stories is bliss.
During the supplies distribution for the KIDS Scholarship program, the students share many exciting stories and the progress they made in their academic life. The youngest student shared her worries about entering the new academic life at university, while the senior students shared their struggle to finish the final assignment. Below are some stories that we would like to share with you:
“I am happy that I finished high school with good marks and was accepted at Udayana University. At first, I was so nervous about the new academic life on campus, as I heard it was so different from high school life. After joining the campus orientation, I think it would not be that scary. I am ready to study on campus, and I hope my new academic journey will be awesome.” Cantika
“Our final project was to create snacks from a variety of brown rice that only can be found in the Jatiluwih Area. It took months to get the perfect result. We spent days learning how to cook the cakes using the original recipe, then took more days to create the cakes by substituting the flour with brown rice flour. Then the real challenge came. We need to collaborate with the women in Jatiluwih to create the cakes, present them to the people, and see whether this new creation would be accepted by people there. It was a good result, and we hope that this new snack becomes the new typical food in the area, and we could empower the people in the area.”- Sustapeni.
“ I plan to create a game that can be used to learn about Indonesian history. Children now are really into computer games, and it will be a perfect medium to learn something if we could combine them. History and game would be a good combo. I believe this project will help children learn and love their nation’s history.”- Izzul.
We hope for the best for the students under the KIDS Scholarship program. We will update the students’ progress through our website and social media. See you soon.