Hello everyone, my name is Fatmawati, I was raised in the Southeast Sulawesi Islands of Indonesia. My educational background is a bachelor's degree in education with a focus on teaching elementary school children. I grew up in a remote area and in a situation of poverty in my family, where I financed my own education up to college level by opening a private tutoring service for students. The important goal of my life now is to contribute economically to my parents, including preparing for social and economic independence for myself as an honorary teacher/paid volunteer with a monthly salary of only 600,000 IDR. The most unique culture in the environment where I live is the coastal community, where many children are currently unable to continue their secondary education due to the poverty of their families. My dream is how in the future there will be no more children who cannot receive basic education services due to the poverty that afflicts their families. I dream that all children in the area where I live should have access to education services at least up to secondary level, because education is a powerful tool to combat structural poverty in Indonesia.

As an independent educator, I am currently establishing and developing learning services and facilities for underprivileged children who cannot afford to continue their education to secondary or vocational levels. I provide educational programs such as vocational training, specifically for girls aged 15-18 who cannot afford to continue their education to vocational or secondary schools. To support the educational development of these underprivileged girls, I am currently a teacher at a private school in the Southeast Sulawesi sub-district. I allocate a portion of my salary to fund study groups for underprivileged girls in my village. I also have income from my family's farming, and I allocate a portion of this income to finance the free education of underprivileged girls, including textbooks, learning materials, and water and electricity costs. My educational service center also receives a small subsidy from the local government and a small CSR (corporate social responsibility) budget from a local fishery company. I believe that social investment in underprivileged girls in my area is a tool to combat structural forms of poverty in the future. A better future for girls is the primary goal of the social and educational services I'm developing. Thank you, Zidisha, for your support!

The purpose of the loan I'm applying for with Zidisha is to ensure access to egalitarian, child-friendly, and quality education services, especially for girls living in remote areas. My project will break the chain of structural poverty and promote gender equality for all. This social investment will impact the future of poor and marginalized girls, helping to achieve SDG Goal 4 (Quality Education).