The name Bina Cita Utama means to nurture ideals, dreams, hopes and ambitions, which are noble, or of the highest standing. Our vision is to provide a high quality learning environment which nurtures and educates children so that as adults, they will be able to make real and positive contributions to the development of their communities and the world.In so doing the school will be a model for future schools in the province.

This website has been built to deliver the latest information about the school’s development straight to the desks of ‘friends of the school’. Welcome and enjoy your stay.

Utami Geiger Chairperson

Karsten Karim MacDonald
Principal Counterpart

We are now into our sixth year as a registered Indonesian national plus school. It was a clear intention of the BCU founders not to start an International school for expatriate children, but instead to start an Indonesian school, registered with the Indonesian government, catering mainly for Indonesian students. The intention was to make a real contribution toward the positive development of the province of Kalimantan Tengah by providing quality education to local children. Also understood was that, as an integrated part of the local education system we would be better able to work with other schools providing them with teacher training and international educational resources.

As a teacher, one of the biggest challenges is to find meaningful contexts for learning. I’m constantly amazed at the opportunities for meaningful learning that present themselves to us here in the jungle. Several years ago we were able to participate in UNIDO’s Global Mercury Project. The high school students went into the field to see first hand the devastating environmental effects of illegal mining. They also were privileged to receive UNIDO guest speakers about the health impacts of mercury; not only on the miners themselves but also on others in the province. They learned, produced posters and visited high schools in an illegal mining area, presenting information to the children of illegal minors about the health effects of using mercury and how simple devices can be used to trap and recycle the mercury.

Another wonderful opportunity presented itself with Yayasan Usaha Mulia, (YUM) a registered charity in Indonesia since 1975, that has undertaken a large scale project to address the high number of deaths in the province caused by malaria. Again the issue is about education. At a meeting in a local village there was only one person who knew that malaria was spread by mosquitoes. YUM’s directors, Olvia Reksodipoetro and Hannah Baerveldt, have invited the school to participate in much the same way we participated in the Global Mercury Project. Once again the children had an opportunity to learn within a context that is meaningful and relevant to their lives. Moreover the children are learning (or being quietly taught) the importance of working to contribute to the development of their community.

Living and working in this context, I am surprised when I hear comments like, “You guys are just educating rich kids.” I don’t mind so much when I hear it from a man in a local food stall in Palangkaraya, because he probably also doesn’t know that mosquitoes transmit malaria. However, I’m really surprised when I hear it from an “educated” foreigner.

A “social project” is by definition is a project focusing on positive social development. YUM and the UN do it by saving lives through clean water, malaria, and mercury projects. We do it by educating and nurturing children, tomorrow’s adults, to have a social conscience, noble aspirations and ambitions and the ability to affect positive change in their society. This is what the name “Bina Cita Utama” means. Like planting a forest, it’s a long term project and the results are not so immediately visible. It’s true that the children at the school who are not on scholarship (85%) do come from wealthier families. It costs money to provide quality education. It’s also true that most of our students are the children of the province’s politicians and business leaders and, undoubtedly due to Indonesia’s hierarchical social structure, will hold those positions in the future.

In terms of “social projects” affecting positive change and development, I think about the impact these high school students are going to have on Palangkaraya in ten years time. Although still teenagers, they already have good English, the ability to research, to think critically and to interact positively with foreigners. Just as importantly, they are developing a social conscience and an understanding of issues that face those that are less fortunate.

BCU was established by Yayasan Bina Cita Utama, a non- profit foundation, and is a social project founded with the clear intention of bringing about positive social development in the province through quality education. It’s a clear intention in the heart of every member of staff when they walk through the door of the school in the morning, and it was a clear intention of the school’s founders.

The students at BCU also have the unique opportunity of having teachers from all over the world. They know that these volunteer teachers have worked hard and saved money in order to fly thousands of miles to work at their school. This gives the students a tangible example of social work and selflessness: seeing people who are willing to give of their time and skills without material reward.

On behalf of everyone at the school I’d like to thank all of our friends and sponsors all around the world for their support over the five and a half years since we opened our doors as the first National Plus School in Central Kalimantan.

Karim MacDonald, Principal