Over the years, we have learned that commitment to each other is the most important key to our success! Because running a foundation or completing a university education requires dedication and perseverance. We all feel most motivated to give our best when we feel part of the Heliconia Community and supported by each other.
To ensure this sense of community, students receive a Heliconia Welcome Bag at the start of their studies, with for example Heliconia pens, notebooks, keyrings, T-shirts, and drinking bottles. They can use these items throughout their studies.
Our cooperation partners also ensure that exams, presentations, obtaining high scores, birthdays, and other special moments are mentioned and celebrated in our collective chat group so that everyone can encourage and support each other. Each semester, our chairperson sends personal emails to our students with encouraging feedback on the progress reports that they have handed in. Our cooperation partners attend graduation ceremonies and give cards and small gifts when someone has achieved milestones.
This personal support and guidance are essential for our students because student life in Indonesia can be challenging and also much harder than in e.g. the Netherlands. It is therefore very important that our cooperation partners, the graduates, and the board in the Netherlands are intensively and personally involved with our students, in order to prevent dropouts and to ensure that everyone can study successfully, also when there are setbacks.
Picture above: graduate Vana with her Heliconia items.
Pictures below: our other students and graduates showing their Heliconia items.
