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8/14/2019 Habitats and Happy Hearts
1/2
76 | FORBES INDONESIA AUGUST 2013
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INDONESIA
PHILANTHROPY
FOLLOWING THE YOGYAKARTA
earthquake in 2006, Jimmy Masrin,
president director and chief executive
of PT Caturkarsa Megatunggal, was
struck by the devastation there. He
responded with a fundraising drive
within his company and by sending a
team of volunteers, including family
members and co-workers, to volunteer
with Habitat for Humanity (HFH).
Now, nearly a decade later, Jimmy
continues a commitment through his
companys extensive corporate social
responsibility (CSR) program as well
as through his personal endeavors as
chairman of HFH Indonesia. Jimmy
also serves as a newly elected member
of both the HFH international board
of directors and the Happy Hearts
Fund board of directors.
That initial fundraiser in 2006
raised enough for 45 homes through
HFH, and laid the groundwork for
what would become a comprehensive
CSR program for PT Lautan Luas, a
subsidiary of Caturkarsa Megatunggal,
which manufactures and distributes
chemicals. At that time, we didnt
have a real CSR program, says Jimmy,
But I had the wish to give back.
So we sent a team of 30 volunteers
to Yogyakarta, and we got to know
the families of the homes we were
building for. That was my inspiration.
Jimmy continued to support and
volunteer for HFH, and was invited to
the board of HFH Indonesia in 2008.
HFH Indonesia is a branch of the
global nonprofit organization, Habitat
for Humanity International, and is fa-
Jimmy Masrin leads by example with hands-on corporate social responsibility.
BY ALISSA GWYNN
Habitats and Happy Hearts
Jimmy Masrin
AHMADZ
AMRONI/FORBESINDONESIA
8/14/2019 Habitats and Happy Hearts
2/2
AUGUST 2013 FORBES INDONESIA | 77
I was in the wrong
place at the wrong time,
or the right place at the
right time, depending
on how you look at it.
mous for its programs of home build-
ing along with other programs dealing
with water sanitation and hygiene.
Since 1997, HFH Indonesia has
helped more than 39,000 families
as of this year. Last year, Jimmy and
Lautan Luas employees built or reno-
vated 34 houses in cooperation with
HFH Indonesia. I was in the wrong
place at the wrong time, or the right
place at the right time, depending on
how you look at it, says Jimmy.
In 2009, Jimmy established a CSR
program for his company. Today, Lau-
tan Luas commits 2% of its net profit
to CSR, which last year came to Rp 1.5
billion. The companys CSR program,
however, extends beyond merely giv-
ing funds. In Jimmys opinion, a key
component essential to a meaningful
CSR program is personal involvement.
If a company gets involved and par-
ticipates, like in the HFH case, you ac-
tually go to the site and build homes.
Its very hands on for the employees;
you get to meet the families, talk with
the villagers, and its more direct. You
need involvement at many different
levels, rather than just giving funds,
he says. These days Jimmy likes to
participate in a build about once a
month. The companys CSR program
now supports a wide range of projects,
with a focus on serving the poor, clean
water supply, and regional programs.
These initiatives include a con-
tinued commitment to HFHJimmy
estimates that more than 300 differ-
ent employees have volunteered at a
buildin addition to regularly-hosted
blood drives, scholarship donations
and local community clean-ups. In
another notable CSR program, Lautan
Luas sent a mobile water treatment
to Yogyakarta after the Mount Merapi
volcanic eruptions in 2010. The unit
was created by PT Hydo Hitech Op-tima, a Lautan Luas subsidiary, and
generates clean drinking water from
river water. Jimmy sees the unit as an
investment in the community; it cost
$100,000 to make, but still currently
serves over 50,000 people.
In March 2013, he was elected to
the International Board of Directors
of HFH International. He is currently
one of only two Asians on the board.
This year he has also been involved
in setting up the Happy Hearts Fund
in Indonesia, an
organization dedi-
cated to rebuilding
schools after natu-
ral disasters. The
Happy Hearts Fund,
founded in 2005,
has already built 50
schools in Indonesia,
and hopes to build 20
more schools every
year. The reason Ive
gotten close to both
[HFH and Happy
Hearts Fund] is because they go hand
in hand; life begins at home. I person-
ally think that without a good home,
you cant really have good education
or good health. When we go to build
these homes, theres always a need for
schools, especially after a disaster, so it
matches, says Jimmy.
In the future, Jimmy hopes that
other companies will follow suit
with their CSR programs as well. I
think that [having strong CSR] is an
asset over time because it illustrates
that management is concerned, says
Jimmy. In a country prone to natural
disasters and a dire need for better
quality housing, the need is obvious.
We take a lot from the country, from
the population, and I think you have to
give back, says Jimmy. F
FROM TOP: The ruins of houses caused by the
Mount Merapi eruption at Kinahrejo village in
Sleman; A woman takes a moment from pullingprecious belongings from the rubble of her
home after a 6.2 earthquake in Yogyakarta.
KRISTIANTOP
URNOMO/
DEMOTIX
/CORBIS,JACQUELIN
EM.KOCH/
MERLIN/
CORBIS