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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

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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

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