The COVID-19 pandemic has spread very quickly in Indonesia. This caused many students of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) to be discouraged to return home and remain in their respective boarding houses. However, it also caused new problems, because students face difficulty in finding food.
The UMY English Language Study Program (PBI UMY) stepped in to provide food packages and cash to students on at the K.H Ibrahim Building, UMY Central Campus.
In addition to providing food packages, the department also provided the students with money. However, the provision of cash was intended to be able to assist the online lecture or other necessary needs, not for cigarettes.
“We intended to give them more staple food, but maybe they didn’t need so much. So, we gave them money to buy data plans for online learning and other services. However, we also gave them a message to not spend the cash on cigarettes,” Rejeki said.
In addition to the funds spent by the department, the lecturers and alumni also participated in donating money to help run the program.