It seems that Lily Kasoem – Titian’s CEO and Founder – can’t just sit around when a disaster strike. It’s like there’s an automatic button that catapults her to go and check what she and Titian can do to help ease the pain. When a massive earthquake shook Lombok in August 2018, Lily wasted no time to go and see the destruction it has caused.
After spending a week assessing the conditions in several villages, she came across Teluk Kombal, a hamlet in the northern part of Lombok, where all the houses had been destroyed. To make matters worse, the community had to relive the horror due to the daily aftershocks, causing further trauma. She decided that Titian’s presence and contribution there would be of great benefit to the community. Lily immediately reported to Titian Board Members and managed to rally donor support to help fund a programme should Titian decide to work there.
The plan to setup a Community Learning Centre (CLC) and Scholarship Programme was then set forth. To ensure that community will be on board with our good intentions, we held an introduction day on January 19th, 2019, as a way to let the community know about Titian and ensure they were receptive to our work in their village.
After highlighting Titian’s programmes and achievements, two of our Scholarship alumni – Galih Khori Aldino and Suryanti – continued the session by sharing their experiences as Titian Scholarship beneficiaries. Both are from the early Generation – Generation 2 – who earned university degrees and have already secured jobs. They relived the despair they felt in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Yogyakarta in 2006. They were old enough when the devastation happened to remember it. Galih still choked while telling the audience the moment when he thought his education would end in junior high and his dream of a better future would have to be buried along with the rubble. Galih and Suryanti both encouraged the parents to give their children a chance to get a formal education, that their children will stand a better chance of getting good jobs if they are well educated.
During that week, Titian’s Scholarship Facilitator – Timo – visited three junior high schools and spread information about Scholarship Programme. A timeline has been set to collect applications and interview for prospective beneficiaries.