"To empower the destitute and orphans through education and family upbringing to be the agent of change to the society. We will teach the children academically and vocationally. And by working together at the eco village, we will fulfill our needs through farming and plantings.” That was what Soehardi said about the key ideas of Roslin Foundation.
“A Foundation should be a place that is not supposed to be depending themselves to the donators” that was Soehardi’s statement when he shared his vision about changing people mindset and perception about foundation.
Soehardi proves his point that going to school is a must for all of the children in Roslin Foundation. Roslin currently having 138 children. 11 children in University. 2 children will be graduated from University for 2 Months. Few children have graduated from University including from medical school. With knowledge from school, the children now can make a living for themselves whenever they finish school and want to leave the foundation.
Innovation
Kupang is one of the driest provinces in Indonesia where the rain fall is the least, one of the poorest provinces in Indonesia. Water and education are most needed for this place. Soehardi start the orphanage from nothing without any knowledge and experienced. But he had a lot of innovations:
“Everything God have created is perfect”, that is Soehardi belief that he said to me couple times when I visited his house and when he shared his story in IPMI class. From that point he believe although they only have coral land, with some innovations they can plant using media on top of the coral made out of cow dunks, brown soil and rice husk. This method is used after being successfully tested in Roslin’s Living Lab. Roslin orphanage are self-sufficient in food and in fact they can sell their harvest. They are not dependent on donations and charities.
“An Orphanage should be a place that is not supposed to be depending themselves from the donations” that was Soehardi’s statement when he shared his vision in IPMI. He wanted to change the mindset of people's perception on orphanage. An orphan from orphanage used to be inferior also with people perception that orphanage has no future just hoping for donations and will grow up to be criminals. He changed it from not letting any kind of adoption for kids from their orphanage. Orphans came to his house became his children. He insist every child to go to school. They have 138 children, from 2 days old until 23 years old. 11 children in University, few children already graduated from university including one from medical school. Children from Roslin Orphanage must be proud of their live and where they came from.
“All are possible”. Finally that simple statement from Soehardi summarized all the inspiration. Soehardi always dream big (read : impossible). He never stop improving and developing even after having a self-sufficient orphanage, having library and mobile library, sending children to school, and having Roslin montessory free-of-charge school. Soehardi is still not finish yet, Continuing the Roslin Foundation, he is aiming beyond foundation. Roslin Foundation has acquired 53 HA of land in Tesabela village, about 35 kilometres from Kupang. They envision to build Tesabella Eco Village, a center for agriculture and education that will help Kupang to maximize their own resources to be able to eradicate poverty in Kupang. For a first (huge) step he already signed “MoU” between Nanyang Technological University and Roslin Foundation for the next 30 years to create Tesabela Ecovillage.
Inspiration
"The journey started when we were in Singapore at one evening in year 1999. My family wanted to celebrate the beautiful moments after living in Korea for 9 years. We celebrated it by having the best dinner on the table and planned a trip around the world with the first class ticket, while at the same time we saw a television showing a contradictive condition of refugees with uncertainties without nothing but home made from plastic. Shortly we decided to cancel the vacation and make something useful for the refugees" that was what Soehardi said when he shared his story about the first step he made in making the Roslin Foundation.
"We started with nothing. without any knowledge on how to run the foundation. So we talk about it and we pray to make Roslin Foundation as a place to live for the refugees." He continue the story, after trial and error he finally made it. Roslin Foundation, A Home for Every Children.
"We sent all children to school. Children have to flourish. After school children are helping in the farm, ranch, and fisheries to fulfill their own needs and sold it to the market," Soehardi continues.
Soehardi doesn’t even stop at that point, the sky does not have limit. He aims to a place far beyond foundation, he is dreaming to build Tesabela Ecovillage. "We want to help more people. We want to create a holistic high economically-valued place for agriculture and character-based education in Kupang, but the challenge is now that I am already retired, I have no more salaries. But I believed everything is possible." he continued with the information that he already have an MoU with Nanyang Technological University and Roslin Foundation for the next 30 years to create Tesabela Ecovillage.
Overall impact
Empower the destitute and orphans through education and family upbringing to be agent of change to the society
Free-of-charge school for children in Kupang and surroundings teaching academically and vocationally
Sustainable Foundation for orphanage, Creating a holistic character-based boarding houses for disadvantaged kids in Kupang
Healthy food for everyone and the product of high quality crops for five star hotel.
Business benefit
Soehardi and Roslin Foundation go beyond foundation. Roslin Foundation not only just a home to live and to eat for children in Kupang, they also provide an education academically and vocationally especially in agriculture. They earned a sustainable profit from that. But they want to emphasize the impact by making Tesabela Ecovillage. They go beyond profit, to include people and planet.
Social and environmental benefit
Benefit for Community :
Creating a better environment
Educating children and new generation
Producing sustainable organic products
Benefit for Local Government :
Making Kupang to be self-sufficient on food through farm, ranch, and fisheries, all customized in accordance to the condition in Kupang
Creating jobs opportunity for local people
Promoting economic growth in Kupang and the rest of NTT
To create a sustainable developmental changes that can be applied throughout Kupang (and other places in Indonesia), all aspects that can promote behavioral transformation and should be a role model for other regions
Benefit for Environment :
By cultivating land for their agricultural activity they also creating a better land and soil surface of Kupang
Improving land condition
Reducing criminal by educating people, when the poverty is no longer an issue, the people of Kupang won’t need to break the law to survive
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Interview
Budi Soehardi,
Founder of Roslin Orphanage, Roslin Foundation & Tesabela Ecovillage
Roslin Foundation is a self-sufficient foundation that Budi Soehardi, a former pilot for Garuda, Korean Airlines, and Singapore Airlines, and his wife made to empower the destitute and orphans through education and family upbringing to be agent of change to the society especially in Kupang, Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT).
They are self-sufficient on food through farm, ranch and fishering. They also sell it to the market, and they even give it to people who are in need.
Roslin Foundation has acquired 53 HA of land in Tesabela village, about 35 kilometres from Kupang. They envision to build Tesabella Eco Village, a center for agriculture and education that will help Kupang to maximize their own resources to be able to eradicate poverty in Kupang.
