Education is one of the key factors to improve a nation’s development. In some areas in Indonesia, the continuity of formal education is sometimes interrupted for a significant amount of time due to earthquakes that destroy school buildings. Happy Hearts Indonesia (HHI) is a non-profit organisation that focuses on access to education for children in Indonesia by rebuilding schools in underprivileged areas or in areas that are affected by natural disasters.
Happy Hearts Fund (HHF) was founded in 2005 by Czech supermodel Petra Nemcova after she became a victim of the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 in Thailand. HHF rebuilt schools in Yogyakarta after a devastating earthquake in 2006. Then in 2013 HHF launched Happy Hearts Indonesia, its first international chapter.
Recently, two schools have been built in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara: RA Batu Rakit and TK IT Bina Insani. Both are completed using recycled plastic raw material, in collaboration with Block Solutions Indonesia and supported by Our Goals, a growing brand in environmental and social consultancy.
Sylvia Beiwinkler, CEO of Happy Hearts Indonesia, stated that this partnership with Block Solutions Indonesia has allowed them to introduce an innovative and eco-friendly solution that reduces plastic waste, while addressing the need for sustainable and resilient education facilities in earthquake-prone areas. What’s more, using block materials to build schools saved a significant amount of time, making it very cost effective. Each classroom only needed as little as 8 hours to build and can significantly remove 1-2 tons of plastic waste from the environment.
Jimmy Hutasoit, Country Director at Block Solutions Indonesia, said, "The elasticity of the blocks makes them ideal for earthquake-prone areas, making them safer than traditional construction materials. The lower mass of the building also means lower seismic design forces, making it more resistant to earthquakes."
Let’s hope that this kind of kind and smart collaboration continue to happen and to give impacts to the education of Indonesian children