SEMARANG, CENTRAL JAVA — Dompet Dhuafa Central Java successfully launched the Container Canteen Program at UIN Walisongo Semarang on Thursday (5/10/2023). The Container Canteen is an economic empowerment-based scholarship program provided to underprivileged students. This program comes as a response to the phenomenon of many of the nation’s children being forced to drop out of school due to economic inability. In fact, education is a fundamental factor to become a developed nation.
In addition to the launching event at UIN Walisongo Semarang, previously Dompet Dhuafa Central Java had also launched a similar program at UIN Salatiga. This activity was successfully realized thanks to the collaboration between Dompet Dhuafa Jateng and the Faculty of Economics and Islamic Business (FEBI) UIN Walisongo Semarang and the support of BTN Syariah.
Zaini Tafrikhan as Branch Manager of Dompet Dhuafa Central Java said, “This Container Canteen Program has had a positive impact on student life. So we continue this program with the aim of empowering the potential of students in the field of entrepreneurship through this program.”
GM of Economic Development and Independence Dompet Dhuafa, Udhi Tri Kurniawan, who was also present at the launching event, hopes that this program can run sustainably, where the spirit is not only burning in the first year.
“We do not expect this Container Canteen Program to run for one year, we want this program to run for two, three, four years and even beyond. We must apply this sustainable principle in the Container Canteen Program. Therefore, the Container Canteen Program will not only be developed on three campuses in Indonesia, but we will also replicate it to 20 campuses in Indonesia. We also thank Dompet Dhuafa Central Java for initiating the first Container Canteen Program in Indonesia,” Udhi said.
On the other hand, the Dean of FEBI UIN Walisongo Semarang, Muhammad Saifullah, said that he fully supports economic empowerment-based scholarship programs such as the Container Canteen initiated by Dompet Dhuafa Jateng.
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“We really appreciate the Container Canteen Program initiated by Dompet Dhuafa at FEBI UIN Walisongo Semarang. The faculty will oversee this program well and as much as possible. This program is very positive as a learning medium, teaching canteen management students to try to increase their capacity and ability to develop their business,” said Saifullah.
Until the end of 2023, Dompet Dhuafa Jateng targets to have three points of the economic empowerment-based scholarship program, namely at UIN Salatiga, UIN Walisongo Semarang, and the ongoing construction process at IAIN Kudus.
“We thank you for the participation and support from all parties, especially Dompet Dhuafa donors because the zakat that has been paid can benefit students in the form of scholarships based on economic empowerment through this container canteen program,” concluded Zaini Tafrikan. (Dompet Dhuafa/Jateng/Ronna)