PALEMBANG, SOUTH SUMATRA – For about a year, Muhammad Rasya (17) has benefited from joining Dompet Dhuafa’s GenZAKAT Education Scholarship Program. The XII grade student of SMAN 16 Palembang shared his experiences and hopes with the Dompet Dhuafa Team after the character building class at the South Sumatra Provincial Library Office, Sunday (2/18/2024).
“Joining the GenZAKAT Scholarship since the beginning of 2023. I got the information from my family and immediately tried to register. Accepted or not, at least I have tried, it turns out to pass. The intention at that time was to broaden my horizons and develop relationships outside of school,” said Rasya.
The second of five children, Rasya’s hobby is reading books. Rasya is a student who is quite active in extracurricular activities such as Paskibraka and Rohis at school. In the future, he wants to study Chemical Engineering at Sriwijaya University.
“I got a lot while participating in GenZAKAT. I learned about leadership, morals, and good worship, dared to learn to speak in public, writing motivation, was taught to get to know more about my own personality, and was given social project tasks and directions that focus on literacy activities whose purpose is to provide knowledge and increase interest in reading. There is also outbound fun,” he said again.
Previously, Rasya also enrolled in school through the Prosperous Family Card (KKS) affirmation route. During the course of his education, he was in arrears with his tuition fees for several months because he did not have enough money to pay.
“My father works as a construction worker. I once defaulted on my school fees for several months. Even if I had money to pay tuition fees, I didn’t use my pocket money. But my parents never complain about it, they want us (their children) to go to school and I don’t want to drop out,” said Rasya, determined.
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“Thankfully, I finally passed and got the GenZAKAT Scholarship which really helped. There is money to pay for school, I save and buy snacks. And many other activities that opened a new perspective for me. And it turns out that this scholarship is assistance from zakat donors that is very useful for us. I feel that,” she admitted.
GenZAKAT Scholarship itself is a Dompet Dhuafa zakat distribution program in the field of education in the form of superior resource investment and leadership character development. The goal is to form the next generation with the character of a leader, caring, and rabbani. This program is intended for students among orphans and poor people who excel.
Dompet Dhuafa South Sumatra Education Program Staff, Dahlia Oktamia explained, GenZAKAT Dompet Dhuafa South Sumatra is committed to producing a generation that is not only smart in literacy, but also has a strong understanding of the culture and history of its nation.
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“In a series of programs, GenZAKAT also holds activities such as this time there are character building classes at the South Sumatra Provincial Library Service, inspiring educational visits to museums, and running social projects to develop humanitarian empathy,” said Dahlia.
“On the other hand, visits like this also aim to provide inspirational stimulus for the beneficiary students in terms of developing their writing skills. Hopefully this visit will help them hone their potential in the world of literacy and inspire them to become productive writers,” she said. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text & Photo: Dhika Prabowo
Editor: Dedi Fadlil