JAKARTA —-— It has been nearly 60 days since floods and landslides struck Sumatra. This situation reminds us once again of the enormous needs of the survivors. Dompet Dhuafa, as a humanitarian organization, continues to develop and implement strategic measures to deal with the impact of the disaster, which has now entered the recovery phase.
One of the steps taken is to expand the network of kindness through collaboration with various educational partners. In this spirit, Tetum Bunaya School also handed over humanitarian donations entitled “Spirit for Sumatra” through Dompet Dhuafa on Tuesday (1/15/2026). This donation is the result of the collective efforts of the entire Tetum Bunaya Kindergarten-Kindergarten-Elementary School family as a form of their concern for the survivors affected in Sumatra.
This activity served as a space for reflection and a means of building students’ awareness of the impact of disasters and post-disaster recovery efforts in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.
Attended by representatives of parents from all levels of education, teachers, school staff, and representatives of Dompet Dhuafa. For children, this activity is a meaningful learning experience, teaching them to understand the meaning of empathy, caring, and sharing from an early age.
The donations collected will be distributed through the Indonesia Siap Siaga Program, a humanitarian effort to respond to a series of disasters in a number of areas in Sumatra. This program not only focuses on meeting emergency needs, but also assists survivors in the recovery process so that they can gradually resume their lives.
Of course, Dompet Dhuafa realizes that disaster management and recovery cannot be carried out by one party alone. Therefore, Dompet Dhuafa strives to take on a strategic role as a connecting hub that unites various school networks such as Sekolah Tetum Bunaya so that they do not work separately.
For almost two months, Dompet Dhuafa has been providing various forms of assistance according to the needs of the survivors of flash floods and landslides in Sumatra, ranging from food aid, health services, to psychosocial assistance for the affected communities. All assistance is distributed based on the principle of impactful benefits.
Nuriyah, Direct Network Officer at Dompet Dhuafa, expressed her appreciation for the concern shown by Tetum Bunaya School. According to her, the school’s involvement in humanitarian actions is an important step in instilling the values of empathy and solidarity from an early age.
“Thank you to the entire Tetum Bunaya School family, especially all of you who are so cool and awesome, for actively participating in raising funds for our brothers and sisters in Sumatra who have been affected by the disaster,” said Nuriyah.
Dian Yulianti, Head of KB-TK Tetum Bunaya School, said that this fundraising activity received full support from the entire school ecosystem. Their concern grew as they received information about the disaster in Sumatra, especially in Aceh, which was increasingly alarming.
“Alhamdulillah, the parents, students, teachers, and even the staff at this school are very aware of the disaster in Sumatra. We saw it firsthand from the news on social media, and the situation is indeed very alarming,” said Dian.
Dian also added that this collaboration is the first between Tetum Bunaya School and Dompet Dhuafa. In the process of distributing donations, the school strives to ensure that the aid is distributed through a trustworthy and professional humanitarian agency.
“Initially, we were looking for a humanitarian agency to distribute the donations that had been collected. Thank God, we found Dompet Dhuafa, which, God willing, is trustworthy, professional, and widely known by the community,” she added.
On the same occasion, Endah Widyawati, Academic Head and Founder of Tetum Bunaya School, was also present and expressed her hope that the friendship and collaboration with Dompet Dhuafa would continue in the future.
“Thank you to Dompet Dhuafa for becoming a partner in collaboration to help disaster survivors in Sumatra. Hopefully, in the future, we can continue to work together and collaborate in other charitable actions,” concluded Endah.
Sekolah Tetum Bunaya is an inclusive private school that promotes the concept of a green school (Adiwiyata), implements a national curriculum combined with the Montessori method, and focuses on literacy, character, and the environment through a sensory and Indonesian cultural approach.
Through this activity, Tetum Bunaya School hopes that humanitarian values will continue to grow in each student. From a simple classroom, it is hoped that a generation will emerge that is sensitive and ready to help others, especially in times of greatest need.
Dompet Dhuafa continues to strengthen the role of schools as a driving force for collaboration in post-disaster recovery, so that they can become a reference for other schools in supporting the recovery process in Sumatra. Continue to strengthen Sumatra through digital.dompetdhuafa.org/donasi/prayforsumatera. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text and photos: Nuriyah and Enik
Editor: Dhika