The Teacher in Uniform

KOMPAS/SAIFUL RIJAL YUNUS

Madukala Kundoro

Amid the execution of police duties, Madukala Kundoro is teaching dozens of village school dropouts. He wants to make sure that the children continue to receive basic education.

“The children should be learning by now. But as it’s Ramadan, we’ve changed the timetable, sometimes in the morning or evening,” said Chief Brigadier Kundoro in the middle of April in Kampung Rawa, Bonggeya subdistrict, Wua-Wua, Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi.

Kundoro has been teaching children for the last three years in a modest house in the village where he is assigned. He said the house used to be where village teenagers indulged in “ngelem” (inhaling glue) and promiscuity. “Along with neighborhood personnel, we cleaned this place and changed it into a house of learning guidance,” he said in mid-April.

Nearly all rooms in the house have been converted into learning guidance classes. Only the back part, kitchen and bathroom cannot yet undergo functional change. Kundoro usually gives lessons in the middle room measuring 5 meters by 3 meters and painted dark yellow, the police office color.

Along with neighborhood personnel, we cleaned this place and changed it into a house of learning guidance.

The room is filled with educational posters such as those of arithmetic, the alphabet, wildlife and the dangers of drug abuse.

Three times a week, Kundoro provides learning guidance. On Tuesday he teaches mathematics, Indonesian and civics; Thursdays cover the dangers of narcotics and drugs, child abuse, and Quran reading and writing. On Sunday, Kundoro gives a drawing lesson, which is wound up with national songs.

Kundoro not only give basic lessons but routinely explains the dangers of narcotics and drugs as well as child abuse. This is done in order to cut off the chain of criminality and at the same time prevent children from becoming victims of crime at home, in the neighborhood and in school.

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The lesson material is compiled by Kundoro and his wife, Dini Riskawati. When Kundoro is on duty in the police office, he is substituted by his wife as a teacher.

So far, his superiors in the Baruga Sector Police, Kendari City Police, have shown understanding of Kundoro’s social devotion. They have frequently given Kundoro dispensation when learning time comes.

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Although they learn amid limitations, the children guided by Kundoro have made headway. They have joined various activities including Al-Quran recitation and picture coloring competitions in Kendari. The children are gaining their self-confidence. “The certain thing is they’re no longer playing outside through the wee hours. This is important,” he said.

KOMPAS/SAIFUL RIJAL YUNUS

Kundoro while teaching subject matter on the dangers of drugs at the tutoring center which he initiated for the past six years in Kampung Rawa, Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, on Thursday (29/4/2021)

Patrol station

Kundoro was assigned as a public security and order maintenance officer (Bhabinkantibmas) in Kampung Rawa in 2016. The village is one of the settlements with most of its people living on the threshold of poverty.

From the initial period of his assignment, Kundoro noticed with deep concern the village children’s condition. The majority of the youngsters had dropped out since primary school years for economic reasons.

They were mostly loitering in the local market, serving as manual workers, singing as street musicians or beggars in Kendari. Many of them were still roaming until predawn.

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He wished to see the children learning. So, he talked to neighborhood executives and conveyed his intention to provide learning guidance for Kampung Rawa children. “The important thing is they can be literate and engaged in activity. Unless educated from an early age, they are prone to be dragged into criminal acts,” said Kundoro.

His idea was supported by residents. Kundoro utilized the patrol station in the neighborhood as the place for teaching. Originally, only several children were interested. As time went by, a lot more children were joining. Today, 56 children are following Kundoro’s learning instruction.

The 3-square-meter patrol station could no longer accommodate the large number of children eager to learn. Fortunately, there was a house that could be used for learning classes. The teaching and learning sessions thus moved to the house.

KOMPAS/ARSIP PRIBADI

Kundoro\'s activities teach children various lessons including the dangers of drugs in Kampung Rawa, Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, as seen on Thursday (29/4/2021)

We need reading books for children because (the existing books) were damaged by floodwater yesterday.

Residents had from the start supported Kundoro’s initiative. Local Muslim women’s group, for instance, contributed blackboards. Some people donated used books. Nonetheless, Kundoro still had to spend his money on some equipment, including tables. He also needs to set aside part of his salary for “school” operational costs.

Yet it’s insufficient to meet other requisites such as books. “We need reading books for children because (the existing books) were damaged by floodwater yesterday,” he said.

Subsistence family

Kundoro was born and spent his childhood in Solo, Central Java. His father, Budi Pekerti, was a secondary school teacher. Her mother, Dukawati Abdullah, was a housewife. As a child, Kundoro was used to living at a subsistence level. “In primary school, it was good if I could wear sandals. Occasionally (we) were barefooted. We stopped at a sugarcane plantation when we went home to eat several cane pieces so as to relieve hunger,” he recalled.

As a junior and senior high school student, he lived with a relative in Makassar for better education. Graduating from senior high school, he studied at the Law Faculty, Halu Oleo University.

In 2001, he passed the test to become a police officer. He was then assigned to the Southeast Sulawesi Regional Police. “I continued my study at Muhammadiyah University, Kendari. While serving my duties (as a police officer), I studied and finished it in 2007,” he said.

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After two years, he furthered his study and earned his master’s degree in law. Kundoro feels very fortunate to be able to achieve such high education, Therefore, he also wants Kampung Rawa children to gain the same educational access.

“I want the children here to be later able to join test programs like that of independent learning activity centers (TKBM) in general. However, it’s difficult to handle the permit. There are various requirements,” added Kundoro.

Chief Brigadier Madukala Kundoro BP

Born: Solo, 27 June 1983

Wife: Dini Riskawati

Children: Akilla Puspa Sahar, 10

Askadina, 3

Activity: Baruga Sector Police Public Security and Order Maintenance

This article was translated by Aris Prawira