Health Advocates Afif & Twindy in SATU Indonesia Awards 2020 Inspiring Webinar

Health Advocates Afif & Twindy in SATU Indonesia Awards 2020 Inspiring Webinar

JAKARTA: In an Islamic boarding school, or pesantren, a student washed his hands with his fingers interlaced and rubbed the back of his hands, foam started to form as water slowly ran.

Hand washing in this pesantren, located in a remote area of Jambi City, has been part of the school’s habit long before COVID-19 pandemic hit and hand washing is intensely campaigned as a means of breaking the chain of transmission.

In Jambi, hand washing and healthy lifestyle, has been promoted by Mohammad Afifi Romadhoni. Born in Muara Enim, South Sumatra, Afifi’s initiative has successfully raised the awareness of pesantren students.

“I’m very grateful that these students are already aware of how important hygiene and healthy lifestyle is long before the pandemic,” said Afif, as he is usually called. Afif is a medical doctor who is also a volunteer from Jambi and a founder of Gerakan Pesantren Sehat (GPS, Healthy Pesantren Movement). His persistence in promoting hygiene behavior in pesantren earned him an award from Astra; Afif is a recipient of Semangat Astra Terpadu Untuk (SATU) Indonesia Awards 2019 in the Health category.

Afif’s concern to the hygiene and health condition in Islamic schools came from his own experience as a student in one of those schools. In this environment, it was typical for students to share common items that are designed for individual use, such as toothbrushes and towels.

This behavior has brought about a stigma that pesantren students were recognizable from scabies on their skin due to that habit. Together with 73 members of GPS, Afif set out to turn this stigma around by regularly visiting different pesantren to promote health and hygiene to the students. He organized interactive dialogue sessions and even appointed health champions in the schools.

While Afif has been focusing his movement primarily in Jambi, he envisioned for GPS to be replicated to the whole Indonesia one day. “We want to see the health quality of students in pesantren to improve. Now that we know our work is appreciated, we’ve become even more motivated. Our friends see this as a positive activity and they want to contribute,” added Afif, who also takes part in the Nusantara Sehat (Healthy Indonesia) program initiated by the Ministry of Health that deploys medical workers like Afif to remote places.

Selfless Heroes

Today (18/7), together with doctor and actress Twindy Rarasati, Afif shared his story in an inspiring webinar held with Young on Top. Themed “Selfless Heroes”, the webinar was moderated by Daniel Mananta.

Twindy shared her experience in treating patients who were confirmed positive with COVID-19. Her involvement in such a high-risk environment resulted in her being infected.

“Maintaining your immunity is crucial, as does being alert to any symptom we may experience. The symptoms [of COVID-19] aren’t specific, most of the time it appears like any other disease with similar symptoms, such as the common cold,” said Twindy, a young doctor from Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jakarta, who is also active in different social activities.

Listening to Twindy and Afif, there is no doubt that these young names can inspire others in their generation in Indonesia to do more for others in their own ways.

As with the previous editions, SATU Indonesia Awards appreciate Indonesian youths who work tirelessly for their communities. The Awards will select five individuals who excel in Health, Education, Environment, Entrepreneurship, and Technology. There is also a group category for collectives who work in any of the five streams.

This year, Astra added a special category to honor youths who selflessly contributed in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the pandemic is not over yet, the enthusiasm of Indonesian youths to apply or to nominate someone they know who may deserve this appreciation is far from dampened.

Since registration started on March 2, 2020, SATU Indonesia Awards 2020 has received more than 8,476 applications. The 2020 edition hoped to top 8,654 applications in 2019.

As of today, SATU Indonesia Awards has appreciated 305 youths, consisting of 59 national and 246 provincial awardees. Aside from cash prize of Rp60 million to each awardee, Astra also provides them with continued mentoring.

The spirit and motivation of Indonesian youths to do good for others are aligned with Astra’s mission of prosper with the nation.

For more information, including on how to register, visit www.satu-indonesia.com. To stay updated, follow the program on Instagram (@SATU_Indonesia), Youtube (SATU Indonesia), Facebook (Semangat Astra Terpadu) and Twitter (@SATU_Indonesia).

For further information, please contact:

Boy Kelana Soebroto

Head of Corporate Communications

PT Astra International Tbk

Ph. 021-508-43-888

About Astra:

PT Astra International Tbk was established in 1957 in Jakarta as a general trading company under the name Astra International Inc. In 1990, for the purpose of the company’s initial public offering (IPO), the name of the company changed to PT Astra International Tbk, followed by listing its shares on the Indonesia Stock Exchange under the ticker code ASII.

Astra has developed its business by implementing a business model based on synergies and diversification within seven business segments, consisting of: 1) Automotive, 2) Financial Services, 3) Heavy Equipment, Mining, Construction & Energy, 4) Agribusiness, 5) Infrastructure and Logistics, 6) Information Technology and 7) Property.

Astra conducts business operations in all parts of Indonesia under the management of more than 235 subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates companies, and was supported by more than 194.359 employees, as of June 2020.

As one of the largest national business groups today, Astra has built a strong reputation through offering a range of quality products and services, taking into account the implementation of good corporate governance and environmental governance. Astra always aspires to be the pride of the nation that participates in efforts to improve the welfare of the Indonesian people.

Therefore, Astra's business activities strive to apply a balanced mix in the commercial aspects of business and non-business contributions through 9 foundations and a variety of sustainable social responsibility programmes Astra Untuk Indonesia Sehat, Astra Untuk Indonesia Cerdas, Astra Untuk Indonesia Hijau and Astra Untuk Indonesia Kreatif.

Astra initiated the Semangat Astra Terpadu Untuk (SATU) Indonesia Awards programme, which has entered a decade this year, and has given recognition awards to 305 young Indonesians, consisting of 59 national level recipients and 246 provincial level recipients in the fields of Health, Education, the Environment, Entrepreneurship and Technology, which are integrated with Astra’s wide range of community activities through 87 Kampung Berseri Astra and 645 Desa Sejahtera Astra initiated in 34 provinces throughout Indonesia.

For further information, please visit www.astra.co.id & www.satu-indonesia.com, and follow Astra through Instagram (@SATU_Indonesia), Youtube (SATU Indonesia), Facebook (Semangat Astra Terpadu) and Twitter (@SATU_Indonesia).