SOUTH BANGKA -- Tears of relief and gratitude filled the eyes of Hellis Dianti (41), a resident of Mawar Street, Gadung Village, Toboali District, South Bangka Regency. After months of worrying about how to finance her daughter's education, she finally found hope after receiving educational assistance from PT TIMAH Tbk on Friday (June 26, 2026).
The assistance from PT TIMAH has become a lifeline for Hellis and her family, enabling her daughter, Gladis, to continue her education. Gladis is currently in her fifth semester of the Islamic Psychology program at Syaikh Abdurrahman Siddik State Islamic Institute (IAIN SAS) Bangka Belitung.
Holding back tears, Hellis shared her family's long struggle to keep her daughter in college. She explained that from the very beginning, they did not have the financial means to pay for Gladis's higher education.
"At first, we were truly struggling. Thanks to the support of our relatives, our daughter was finally able to attend college. They covered not only her tuition fees but also her daily living expenses," Hellis recalled.
However, their circumstances changed when the relative who had been supporting Gladis's education passed away. Since then, the family once again faced the harsh reality of having no financial resources to continue paying for her studies.
"We tried to seek assistance from many different places. Thank God, today we received support from PT TIMAH. We are deeply grateful because this assistance means so much to our family," she said.
With the family's limited financial resources and her husband's irregular income as an independent tin panner, Hellis admitted that they had almost lost hope. At one point, she and her husband even considered asking Gladis to withdraw from college.
"We actually discussed asking our daughter to stop attending college because we simply couldn't afford it anymore. But whenever we tried to bring it up, she remained silent and isolated herself. We were worried that it would affect her mental well-being," she said.
The uncertainty of her husband's income only intensified their concerns about their daughter's future.
"Thank God, this assistance from PT TIMAH has been a tremendous help. We hope it will allow our daughter to complete her education and build a better future," Hellis added.
Meanwhile, Gadung Village Head Iskandar expressed his appreciation for PT TIMAH's continued commitment to supporting local communities through both social assistance and educational programs.
According to Iskandar, the company's various community initiatives have brought tangible benefits to residents.
"PT TIMAH has consistently provided assistance to our community. Among the most meaningful are its annual sacrificial cattle donations during Eid al-Adha and food assistance programs. This time, the company has also helped cover the educational expenses of one of our residents, and we truly appreciate that," he said.
He noted that the educational assistance provided to Hellis's family was well-targeted, as the family falls into the low-income category.
"Based on their daily living conditions, Mrs. Hellis's family genuinely deserves this assistance. Her husband works as an independent tin panner with an unstable income. This support will at least help ease the burden of their daughter's college expenses," he explained.
Iskandar hopes that educational assistance programs like this will continue so that more young people in Gadung Village have the opportunity to pursue higher education.
"Gadung Village is one of PT TIMAH's major Mining Business Permit (IUP) areas. We hope the company's CSR programs will continue benefiting our community, especially by supporting underprivileged families and providing educational scholarships. We want the children of Gadung Village to have greater access to quality education so they can become highly capable human resources in the future," Iskandar said. (*)
