Press Release

Lampung Timur, Wednesday, July 1, 2026 – The lively chatter of children filled the simple classroom at the Pesona Community Learning Center (PKBM) on Tegal Island, Pesawaran, Lampung. It was no ordinary day; it was report card day.

For the children on this island—classified as a frontier, outermost, and remote (3T) region—a report card is not merely a record of academic grades. It is a powerful symbol that they now share an equal opportunity to receive a proper education.

Behind this joyful clamor stands Uniroh, a school principal from Bandar Lampung. Every week, she willingly braves the ocean waves to teach the children of Tegal Island.

This journey began about ten years ago when she uncovered a harsh reality: many island children claimed to go to school but had no report cards, had never taken exams, and did not even understand the educational levels they were supposedly pursuing.

"After looking deeper, I realized that school for them was just an assumption based on age. They thought education simply ended when they turned 17 or when they got married. That was where my heartache began," Uniroh recalled.

This anxiety drove her, along with a group of volunteer teachers, to establish PKBM Pesona. However, the greatest challenge was not just the perilous sea access, but building trust among a skeptical local community. Yet, their consistent presence week after week slowly melted doubt into conviction.

A Turning Point with Bukit Asam

The journey of Uniroh and her resilient volunteer teachers finally found an equal traveling companion. Since 2017, PT Bukit Asam Tbk (PTBA) has been present to support PKBM Pesona. This step is part of the company's long-term commitment to improving human resource quality through equitable education access, aligning with the Government's Asta Cita agenda and supporting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education.

PTBA Sustainability Division Head, Dedy Saptaria Rosa, revealed that PTBA does not just ensure the educational program continues, but actively helps overcome the various physical limitations faced by the Tegal Island community.

"Tegal Island is a 3T region with highly restricted access. Therefore, PTBA does not only support learning activities, but also provides a boat as transportation for the teachers and builds a Solar Power Plant (PLTS) so that educational activities can run much better," Dedy said.

PTBA's commitment also extends to higher education through a scholarship program. Tegal Island children with big dreams are encouraged to pursue higher studies. Those who pass the selection process are accommodated at the Al Barokah Orphanage in Tanjung Enim. There, they pursue formal education while receiving strong character and religious mentoring.

"We want to ensure that the children on Tegal Island have the same opportunity to achieve higher education. Currently, three children are already part of this program, and every year we open up opportunities for their younger siblings," Dedy added.

For Uniroh, PTBA's support became a crucial turning point for the learning center's survival.

"Initially, I thought this initiative might only last three months because we had no funding. When Bukit Asam stepped in and immediately fulfilled the children's needs, our hopes grew so much larger," she expressed emotionally.

For Uniroh and PTBA, education is not merely about churning out materially successful individuals, but about uplifting human dignity to create quality individuals. When such quality human beings are born, they will be the ones to break the chains of poverty and rebuild their homeland for the better.

On Tegal Island, hope now grows every single day. From a simple classroom, new dreams are born from coastal children who once nearly lost their chance to go to school. Through the close collaboration between the community, volunteers, and PTBA, the vast ocean that was once a barrier has now become a witness to a brighter future for the next generation of Tegal Island.