Sabtu Mengajar Foundation, Pandeglang, Banten

Learning together every Saturday, all the way to campus.

We are volunteers who help village children in Pandeglang learn. Through the Pionir Desa Scholarship, we also mentor 12th graders from low-income families until they are accepted into university.

Read our story See our programs

why Saturday?

Village kids are every bit as bright. What they often lack is information, mentoring, and someone willing to sit beside them while they study. That is what we try to bring, one Saturday at a time.

101students mentored since 2020
96accepted into public & private universities
95%made it into university
17universities our alumni attend

Pionir Desa scholars and their mentors posing together at Learning Camp — Pionir Desa Learning Camp Getting into university is not the finish line. We stay with them until they can come home and help build their village.

our story, 2020 to 2026

From one child to more than a hundred.

2020
The first student

We began by helping one student study for the university entrance exam. They got in, and that told us this was worth continuing.

1 joined, 1 accepted
2021
Pionir Desa opens up

The university-prep scholarship opened to more students. Volunteers came every week with books, practice tests, and plenty of encouragement.

11 joined, 10 accepted
2022
Alumni start coming back

Some of the students we once mentored came home to become mentors. Our volunteers now include people who sat in the very same class.

13 joined, 12 accepted
2023
Our biggest cohort

Thirty-seven students joined the program. Thirty-six were accepted, at UNTIRTA, UPI, ITB, IPB and other universities.

37 joined, 36 accepted
2024
Staying with them at university

Getting accepted turned out not to be enough. We carried our mentoring into university life, including costs, grades, and settling into a new city.

11 joined, 10 accepted
2025
More than grades

Monthly seminars, coaching and learning camps. Students learned to know themselves, to speak up, and to lead their friends.

17 joined, 16 accepted
2026
Everyone got in

Eleven joined, eleven were accepted. One awardee also won the FLS3N journalism competition for Pandeglang Regency and was selected for the 2026 Youth Parliament.

11 joined, 11 accepted
next
More villages

We want this to reach more villages and schools, so that more children have someone to study with all the way to university.

101 students so far, and counting

what we hold on to

Four things we never let go of.

Pillar 01

Access

Higher education is not only for city kids.

We bring information about university and scholarships to the villages, to children who rarely hear about either.

Pillar 02

Preparation

Big dreams need steady practice.

Tutoring, weekly practice tests and selection prep, so they walk into the exam room calm.

Pillar 03

Character

We grow people, not just grades.

Mentoring and leadership training. We want them to become resilient people, not just people who pass exams.

Pillar 04

Impact

Those who made it come back for the next ones.

Our hope is simple: that our pioneers help build their villages and mentor the next cohort.

Open selection

Clear steps: paperwork, a written test, an interview, and a check of family circumstances.

Supported until graduation

Mentoring continues through university so nobody drops out halfway.

Gotong royong

Volunteers, mentors, tutors and alumni pitch in together. Everything is done as a community.

the Pionir Desa model

A pioneer's journey

01High schooler
02Selection
03Mentoring
04University
05Leadership
06Social impact

A 12th grader

Usually from a low-income family, dreaming of university without knowing where to start. We meet them at school and in their villages.

Selection

Paperwork, the Cerebrum written test with a minimum score of 500, an interview, then a check of family circumstances. Every step is transparent.

A year of mentoring

Six months of academic mentoring, online tutoring, weekly SNBT practice tests, major and scholarship counselling, and a motivation seminar every month.