Students and staff from Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) are raising funds for villagers hit by the recent spate of earthquakes in Lombok, Indonesia.

Close to $20,000 has been collected so far in a campus donation drive which started on 6 August, with plans to use the funds to rebuild damaged infrastructure using quake-resistant materials, and to develop programmes to help the affected communities.

For NP students and staff, the cause is especially close to their hearts as some of them have been travelling regularly since 2014 to villages in northern and eastern Lombok, to work with the local communities there to build libraries and kindergartens and to conduct English and IT literacy courses.

The donation drive, which ends on Sept 3, is organised by the polytechnic’s Office of Service Learning, School of Design and Environment, and School of Business and Accountancy.

Ms Katherine Tay, 21, who graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic earlier this year, is encouraging her family and friends to chip in. She visited Sembalun Lawang in March last year (2017) to help construct a classroom. “What would take very little out of us will go a long way (to help the villagers), so I’m trying my best to advocate for this fund raiser.”

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Source: The Straits Times, 13 August 2018