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West Lombok. A cheerful chant of religious tunes breaks the tranquility of Nyiur Lembang village in West Lombok.

At the court yard of Nurul Haramain Narmada Islamic Boarding School a group of female students in their girl scout uniforms hit their makeshift tambourines, a tribute they say, to their school’s founder Hasanain Juaini who is to be honored with this year’s prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award.

The award, named after a former president of the Philippines, honors excellence in Asia in a variety of fields. Hasanain was recognized for “his holistic, community-based approach to pesantren [Islamic boarding school] education in Indonesia.”

Unlike most pesantren, Hasanain’s is open to girls, pluralist in orientation and stresses secular education. Hasanain also established the Coalition of Pesantren Against Corruption, the first pesantren-based network designed to push for government reform.

Sitting behind the three-storey compound is an open area covered in protective nets where tens of thousands of tree seeds are being cultivated, which the workers say will be used to rehabilitate nearby hills and plateaus that are now barren from deforestation.

“Actually [these seeds] make up just a fraction of what is going to be used. Several spaces belonging to the residents are also used to grow seeds like these,” said Warni, a worker at the farm.

What was at first one man’s dream soon become a communal affair. Since 1996, the project has rehabilitated more than 31 hectares of damaged forests.

“Our cleric never told us to do this. We were inspired to help. We see our cleric working the lands with his own hands, painstakingly planting each seed. Because our cleric was so enthusiastic we became enthusiastic,” said Wati, a third grade student.

Just moments later, Hasanain emerged from behind the trees walking across the field in his signature white turban and checkered sarong.

“I haven’t prepared anything for the [Aug. 31] awards ceremony. The other day, out of the blue someone called me asking if I’m willing to accept the Ramon Magsaysay award. I told him I’m not insane enough to turn down such a prestigious award,” he said.

Hasanain said he never suspected that a group claiming to be Filipino scientists, who visited the school three months ago, would turn out to be the award’s adjudicators.

The cleric said he never dreamed of receiving any awards when he set up the school.

“I dreamed of having an educational institute that is able to educate children to become great, kind-hearted, useful people who love the beauty of life,” he said. “I’m doing this for people around me. For the community.”

To Hasanain, receiving the award, dubbed the Asian Nobel Prize, is daunting.

“How else could it be? [With this award] comes more responsibility and burden entrusted by a lot of people. I have worked extremely hard but with the award the responsibility to do so much more is multiplied,” he said.

According to the Magsaysay award Web site, Hasanain’s school had creatively promoted “values of gender equality, religious harmony, environmental preservation, individual achievement and civic engagement among young students and their communities.”

Hasanain said that students are also taught to be familiar with technology so that they will be able to compete in the global market after they graduate. The school’s teaching process, the cleric said, is 100 percent computer-based. “At first, students’ parents were concerned how would it affect school fees. But soon they realized they could actually save a lot of money. Students don’t have to buy books anymore, everything is digitized,” he said.

For his efforts in gender equality and education, Hasanain received an award from Ashoka International in 2003. In 2004 the West Lombok administration honored him for his achievement in ecological conservation.

“He is constantly involved with the community and not afraid to get down and dirty with everyone else, despite being a leader. He is like a father to this community,” said Mirsah, a local villager.

Indonesian Woman Wins ‘Asia’s Nobel Prize’ for Helping Poor