Monroe Consulting Group Indonesia continued its annual tradition of helping run a health clinic for impoverished children and their families at the Bantar Gebang rubbish dump in Bekasi, Greater Jakarta, over the weekend. Consultants from the executive recruitment company and highly respected children’s charity MAIN dispensed medicine and basic supplies to a number of disadvantaged children who live, work and play in the landfill.
Andreas Suputra, who heads Monroe Indonesia’s Consumer Goods recruitment division, said it was his second trip to Bantar Gebang. “Our objective was to provide free medicine and raise health awareness for the people of Bantar Gebang,” Andreas said. “Secondly, we just wanted to share a little happiness by providing the children with goodie bags we purchased with money raised in our office.”
Monroe has a long association with the MAIN foundation, which primarily focuses on providing free medical care for sick or terminally ill children from disadvantaged backgrounds. MAIN, an acronym that translates as ‘Play’ in Indonesian, was established by five paediatricians to promote child health, initially at the state-owned Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Jakarta. All money raised for the foundation goes directly to children to alleviate suffering.
Monroe Indonesia Managing Director Bagus Hendrayono said visiting Bantar Gebang each year was always a sombre experience given that the rubbish dump was home to more than 100 families.
“It has always been the intention of our company to share our values with the wider community and to see the smiles it brings to children’s faces brings us joy also,” Bagus said. “We are proud to support MAIN and its work, but this has also had the consequence of teaching us how lucky we are and to be even more grateful for what we have.”