Tzu Chi Early Childhood School represented DKI Jakarta Province won a first place in ‘Best Performance’ category at the ‘Lomba Sekolah Sehat Berkarakter Nasional 2019’ that was announced on the Awarding Ceremony at Kartika Chandra Hotel Jakarta on November 13, 2019. For this category, the second and third place winners were given to the Banjara Baru City Idaman Kindergarten, Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan and the Kemala Bhayangkari I Kindergarten, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.

Tzu Chi Early Childhood Principal, Ms Iing Felicia Joe, expressed her gratitude and happiness for the achievement that had been achieved, "I am certainly very happy and proud because Tzu Chi School can represent Jakarta at the national level, and achieved a great result for the best performance, it is truly an extraordinary achievement. This clearly is a hard work paid off for the team which includes the school committee, the foundation (Tzu Chi), and all school members," said Iing after receiving the award.

The evaluation criteria in the ‘Lomba Sekolah Sehat Berkarakter Nasional 2019’ focus on the implementation of the ‘Trias UKS’ activities in school which comprises the implementation of health education, providing adequate first health services, and establish a healthy school environment.

Ms Iing also added, Tzu Chi Early Childhood School has been implementing the Trias UKS since the school started in 2011, which is based on the three pillars of Tzu Chi namely gan en (gratitude), zun zhong (respect), ai(love). "Grateful, mutual respect, and love are seen in the UKS vision. We at Tzu Chi have demonstrated love and respect ourselves, others, and the Earth, which can be seen in school activities on environmental conservation from an early age."

Becoming a Role Model

"With love in the heart, we can be a good influence on others" ~ Jing Si Aphorism by Master Cheng Yen

North Jakarta Mayor Mr Sigit Wijatmoko, A.P, M.Si was delighted and proud of Tzu Chi School’s achievements. "Of course this is an achievement that will become motivation to others, in being able to develop a healthy character. More importantly, such achievement at early education when children are in their golden period is admirable," said Sigit Wijatmoko.

Mr Wijatmoko also conveyed his hope that Tzu Chi Early Childhood school will be able to continue to maintain this achievement, and set an example for North Jakarta, and even for the Province of DKI in general. "From Tzu Chi School we can actually learn, to not only focus on the students’ character but also on the interaction between teachers and parents, so as to be able to build strong relationships and characters together. We will make this a sample role model not only in North Jakarta but also in DKI Jakarta, "Sigit said.

Dr Kirana Pritasari, Mqih, Director General of Public Health of the Indonesian Ministry of Health who presented the trophy to the winners also appreciated the steps that Tzu Chi Early Childhood have taken in their efforts to conserve the environment. "I have seen how Tzu Chi School instills values ​​in children to love and care for the environment, it is very good to be an example. We hope that the winners, including Tzu Chi School, can become role models and set a benchmark for other schools around them, "said Dr Pritasari.

In becoming a role model for others, Tzu Chi Early Childhood has initiated an effort to share the school’s teaching and experience in environment and humanistic education with other schools through the programme ‘Harmony in Diversity’ which was first held on October 28, 2019. "We love other people and the environment, so we invited other early childhood schools and their parents to share how we do our waste management and recycling, so that they can also take part in reducing waste in Jakarta," said Ms Iing.

‘Lomba Sekolah Sehat Berkarakter Nasional 2019’ aims to assess school achievements and establish school’s participation in bridging health development in the community through education. This year's competition was joined by 94 schools from 26 provinces in Indonesia. The competition named 36 schools as winners, with 9 winners at each level namely: Early Childhood, Elementary Schools, Junior High Schools, and High Schools for three categories: Best Performance, Best Achievement, and Best Character Development.