At a glance, Tri Kurmiwati is just like an ordinary teacher of SMAN 19 Surabaya with teaching physics as her daily routine. But her faith, motivation, and efforts to contribute something to the community around her by changing a small thing into a research-based innovation can be a good model for all teachers in Indonesia. Actively involved as a secretary in Musyawarah Guru Mata Pelajaran (MGMP), an organization of all Physics teachers in Surabaya, Tri had an opportunity to know and share ideas and opinions with other teachers. “I envy my colleagues who have successfully won this Citi Fund Success (CFS) competition.” she said. In fact, her jealousy and environmental awareness uniquely combine to support her to be one of the Best 10 participants of Citi Success Fund 2008, beating other 672 high school teachers in Jabodetabek (a tri-province area), Bandung, Medan, Semarang, Surabaya, and Bali.

Being a winner in this competition was not an easy job. She had to face many obstacles. This competition started with submitting proposal in the beginning of September 2008 and ended with program implementation from January to March 2009. Meeting the deadline to submit proposals and attending a seminar in Bogor, she had no chance to type them. “Having limited time, I just wrote them by myself. I hope they can read my handwriting.” she explained. “I sent three proposals and only one passed the preliminary round. Its title was “Kulit Kerang Alternatif Aspal Jalan” – “Scallop Shells as Alternative for Asphalt”. Tri was then granted IDR 5 million to finance her research project. Heavy rains taking place from January to March made her nervous as they ruined her project. Persistently, Tri consulted with some professors at Surabaya Technology Institute. She even discussed her project with some experts for asphalt and concrete. After a long discussion, she got many inputs for her research project. Considering several experimental tests, she to change her title to “Kulit Kerang Alternatif Campuran Beton Jalan” – “Scallop Shells as an Alternative for A Mixture of Concrete”.

“It all started from scallop shells.” she claimed proudly. “They inspired me to create something useful. As we know, the scallop shells contain high phosphor and calcium. There are beneficial to make the concrete stronger.” she described excitedly. According to her, the concrete can be used for building houses, streets, and even, jogging tracks (as a media of reflexology).

Tri’s concrete with 6 m X 0,5m long is a prove of an original idea supported by students of SMAN 19 Surabaya in  Kelompok Ilmiah Remaja and educational practitioners at higher institution in Surabaya. All of her efforts have been paid off. Her research was successfully selected as one of the Best 10 projects that allow her to get IDR 15 million. Congratulations!

About Citi Success Fund

Citi Success Fund (CSF) is a collaboration between HOPE Indonesia Foundation, which is one of Citi Indonesia & Community Innitiatives under the Citi Peka umbrella program. It aims to support high school teachers in Jabodetabek, Bandung, Medan, Semarang, Surabaya, and Bali to design creative projects for their schools. CSF provides financial assistance to implement their ideas so that students can creatively participate.
The financial assistance is provided for 100 winners. Each of them receives IDR 5 million that is mandatory used for implementing Citi Success Fund activities. 10 out of 100 winners will be selected as The Best CSF activities that deserve to get cash money in the amount of IDR  15 million.