ABOUT
Gekko Indonesia is an online, student-led branch of Yayasan Gerakan Kepedulian Indonesia (also known as GK), an organization based in Jakarta that aims to break the cycle of poverty. Gekko Indonesia’s goal has always been to teach the less fortunate how to fish and not simply give them fish; to help them become autonomous and self-sustaining.
The idea of teaching people the skills necessary to pursue success rather than having them rely on the goodwill of others is something that is central to the GK philosophy. Gekko Indonesia’s goal is to teach GK families to become independent and self-sustaining.
Gekko Indonesia is built on this same idea, which is seen in that it:
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Gives adults jobs while jobs are still challenging to come across
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Acts as a source of income
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Provides an opportunity to learn skills that can open up work opportunities in the future
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Contributes directly to the construction of more learning centers, allowing GK children to further their education
ABOUT GEKKO INDONESIA
How did Gekko Indonesia start?
Gekko Indonesia began as the GK Mask Initiative in the early summer of 2020 as a short-term solution to the economic strain caused by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Started by a teacher at Jakarta Intercultural School named Richard Miller and a handful of Middle Schoolers, the GK Mask Initiative served both as a way for these families to earn a living and as a way for them to be part of the solution in combating COVID-19 in Indonesia. Over the course of the summer, 4 sewing machines were donated to help boost the production of masks. With the help of a few Middle School volunteers, the GK Mask Initiative sold over 4300 masks.
The project then developed into the GK Shirt Initiative. The GK Shirt Initiative managed to develop designs and make use of screen printing machines, bought with the profits from the GK Mask Initiative, to sell over 450 shirts and raise over Rp. 66,000,000.
With the money earned from both the GK Shirt and Mask Initiatives, GK was able to complete the construction of 8 learning centers, each of which comes with interactive television and free WiFi to allow the GK-sponsored children to participate in online learning, which was the norm for the 2020 to 2021 school year.
This year, while we still aim to help struggling families, our goal is to get Gekko Indonesia running and off the ground before handing it off to the GK Community. We want to do this in order for them to be able to use this platform as a permanent source of income, as a fishing rod to catch their own fish.