Returning to hometown
after finishing study is a dream of every young people who have left their
villages to study in different place even different island. This is an effort
to improve self-quality and desire to develop the region. Not different from my
dreams and hopes, Elmifaddre Doni’s.
I came from Malinau,
North Kalimantan and with a strong will, I left my hometown to study in
department of Management at National Development University (UPN) ‘Veteran’.
While staying in Yogyakarta, I had a chance to take part in Stube-HEMAT
Yogyakarta training on Organic Agriculture held in May 2018. It turned out that
agriculture is not only talking how to plant but also constructing one’s
mindset and communities’s related to independency and pride as farmers, the food
producers.
I was graduated from
university in 2018 and immediately rushed back to my hometown. A few months
after returning home, I did not get a definite job yet, however fortunately I
managed to be selected to work at General Election Commission (KPU) office of
Malinau regency in Information Technology section. Departing early in the morning
and going home in the afternoon became my routine activity, which was very busy
to prepare the General Election at that time.
After working, friends of
mine, Leo Riski Rikardo, Ade Prayogi and I often met and talked many things
about our surroundings. One idea came up to spend time together for social
activities. The idea was originated from the condition around us, where small
children in our neighborhood never read books except school books, so my
friends and I took an initiative to collect reading books for children and
teenagers which we displayed simply for them.
After some books have
been collected although not so many, we began confused how to arrange them.
Then we constructed re-used wood to make shelves and book tables. Finally we
opened a Community Reading Park (TBM), which is open every Tuesday and Friday
around 4 pm. This TBM is located in Inai market, RT 002, Kuala Lapang village,
West Malinau district which is only 300 meters from my house in Neighbouring
Block 001. The activities we have at the
TBM are reading, accompanying learning and playing with children. The children participation
is quite high in these activities, approximately 30-40 children.
The obstacle that arose
during the opening of the first TBM was how to teach children, provide
assistance and make educational games for them, because our educational
background was not elementary school teacher education. But we did not give up,
and the children were eager to come and read in the TBM.
We hope these small
activities at TBM will increase their knowledge and foster their enthusiasm to
study as high as possible. (TRU - Narrated by Elmi, April-June).
Comments
Post a Comment