8 August 2009 - Medan, Sumatra -  Orang Utan Republik Foundation's 2009 Ecotour to North Sumatra began in Medan, Sumatra on August 8^th with a welcome dinner at the Madani Hotel that also served as a venue to celebrate the recipients of the 2009 Orangutan Caring Scholarship (OCS). The five recipients, three from the province of North Sumatra and two from the province of Aceh, attended the dinner acknowledging their achievement. Some flew in from as far away as Banda Aceh with their advisors to participate in the ceremony that also included their signing the contract of support between them, the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS) and OURF.

The recipients had to compete among hundreds of other "college hopeful" applicants in early 2009 for the limited number of scholarships. Each had to submit a written paper regarding the orangutan, present their paper to a panel of judges, and defend their presentation in a rigorous question and answer period. 

 The recipients from North Sumatra are  Ilhayatu Aini from the School of Biology at North Sumatra University,  Lolly Banjarnahor from the School of Forestry at North Sumatra University, and Sari Ayu Maghdalena from the School of Biology at the University of Medan.  From Aceh the recipients are Jaka Frahmana from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Syiah, Banda Aceh and Cut Tri Janurli from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Syiah, Banda Aceh. 

In March 2009, OURF and SOS entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Syiah Kuala in Banda Aceh, to extend the scholarship program to students in the province of Aceh. OURF and SOS hope to increase the number of scholarships in future years to that region of Sumatra. 

The ecotour participants also had a chance to learn about the work of SOS and the Orangutan Caring Club as well as talk with the recipients of the OCS. The advisors, including an official from the veterinary school in Aceh, addressed the dinner group and thanked the organizers for sponsoring this important scholarship. 

About the Orangutan Caring Scholarship. The Orangutan Caring Scholarship is one of the programs that OURF sponsors in Indonesia to support formal and informal education- a key to long term orangutan survival. The scholarship provides for multi-year tuition at one of the participating universities as well as the research and write-up of their thesis. Recipients are obligated to participate with SOS and conduct lectures and discussions in primary and secondary school about orangutans and rain forest issues.

Past recipients have been able to use the OCS to leverage other scholarships and awards. It is anticipated that recipients of this scholarship will enter into positions of influence in government, academia and business where they will better serve as advocates for the species. 

OURF partners with the Sumatran Orangutan Society to administer the competitive academic program. SOS promotes the scholarship program in Sumatra, manages the applicant process, conducts the evaluation and selects the recipients. OURF provides the funding for this program. Funding provides tuition for up to four years at the department of forestry or biology. The number of scholarships offered is based on the amount of funding OURF can raise. Each scholarship costs less than $1,000. Scholarships in 2009 were provided by grants to OURF from the Orangutan Conservancy and the Australian Orangutan Project as well as from other donations to OURF. For more information about the OCS and participation opportunities, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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