Eradicating Illiteracy in Jayapura

For the hard work of Sri Kurnawati and the team of instructors, TBM Kasih won the award for best village public library in the Best Subdistrict of Papua Province awards in 2021.

KOMPAS/FABIO MARIA LOPES COSTA

Sri Kurnawati

Sri Kurnawati has opened Taman Bacaan Masyarakat Kasih (TBM Kasih), in Jayapura city. Through this public library, Sri disseminates knowledge and provide various kinds of training, especially for women and children.

Taman Bacaan Masyarakat Kasih (TBM Kasih) is located along the Trans-Papua highway connecting Jayapura city and Keerom regency, Biak hamlet, in the zone of Abe Pantai, Abepura district. TBM Kasih occupies the sitting room and backyard of Sri and her family.

One day at the end of July, Sri was working with Vita Gasperz, one of the instructors at TBM Kasih. Some 30 minutes later, five women living around Biak hamlet arrived. They took several books on various themes from the library and read them.

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They continued their activities by being trained in chocolate pudding making. Guided by TBM instructors, they read books and followed skill training during the breaks in their routines as homemakers and traditional market traders.

The women’s activities were part of the Noken Literacy Program. The program, carried out on Fridays, is part of a cooperative effort between the Mahkota Bunda Foundation and TBM Kasih that began in 2020. It aims to impart general knowledge to local women through reading and promoting their skills, ranging from cake baking to handicraft making.

While Vita and the women were making pudding, Sri went to a cottage about 100 meters from TBM Kasih. The cottage usually serves as a meeting place for the local community. There, Sri assisted three TBM Kasih volunteers who were teaching 20 hamlet children to read and write. The participants were aged 5 to 10.

DOKUMENTASI TBM KASIH

Sri Kurnawati (left) while teaching children at the Taman Bacaan Masyarakat Kasih (Kasih Community Reading Park library) in Biak Village, Jayapura City, Papua, on August 16, 2021.

Sri spread a mat and joined the teaching session. The activity was in compliance with the health protocols required during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each child was obligated to wear a mask while attending the literacy class. When it was 5:30 p.m., Sri and the volunteers ended the course and they all returned home.

Sri gets no pay from her literacy instruction and involvement in the Noken Literacy Program. In order to meet her daily needs, she relies on her salary as a contract teacher of mathematics at state extraordinary school SLB 1 Jayapura since 2019.

From the market

The birth of TBM Kasih began with Sri’s literacy program for people living around Youtefa Market (Abepura) in early 2019. At the time, Sri was a teacher at the Puspita Public Learning Activity Center (PKBM Puspita).

PKBM Puspita is a regional administration partner that seeks to equalize educational attainment under package A for the primary school level up to package C for the senior high school level. Sri joined PKBM for the equalization education program in 2017.

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There, Sri found many children aged above 10 still unable to read and write properly. The fact disturbed Sri, who was inspired to volunteer to give reading lessons to children living near her home in Biak hamlet. To realize her intention, she discussed it with community figures in Biak hamlet. Sri was supported and enthusiastically welcomed by local people. They also allowed Sri to use the cottage for children’s classes.

Sri resigned from PKBM Puspita so she could focus on her social activity. In June 2019, she started going around the hamlet carrying textbooks. She gathered children to attend her reading and writing lessons. Initially, only 10 children joined. This year, 50 children participated in her class.

“Many children have felt positive effects after joining this activity. They become familiar with letters, capable of reading and writing within only a few months,” said Sri.

KOMPAS/FABIO MARIA LOPES COSTA

Sri Kurnawati (center, black shirt) teaching children in Biak Village, Abepura District, Jayapura City.

In March 2020, Sri decided to set up TBM Kasih. She received a lot of books from a number of donors and the Education, Library and Archives Office of Papua province. TBM Kasih has collected 1,500 books on various themes.

This writer of a book entitled Semangat Literasi di Tengah Pandemi (The Spirit of Literacy amid the Pandemic, 2020) has often published her literacy instruction in Biak hamlet on social media. Several people of different backgrounds were thus attracted to help Sri and TBM Kasih. Now, five more instructors have volunteered to assist Sri. School and college students, as well as other members of the public are also visiting TBM Kasih to read books.

However, with a surge of COVID-19 cases in Papua, educational activities for women and children at the cottage were interrupted. In August 2021, operations were halted to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In spite of that, Sri continues to give reading lessons at home from Monday to Friday starting at 3 p.m., in the library room of TBM Kasih, which measures 9 by 6 meters. Only five children are allowed to attend to comply with health protocols.

“We will reopen Noken Literacy and cottage learning activities after COVID-19 cases in Jayapura have decreased. The local people’s desire to learn is still very high,” said Sri.

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Apart from the pandemic, TBM Kasih also faces the classic problem of limited resources. Book shelves are lacking, and the facility has no computers. That’s why online learning cannot yet be arranged. “The children have no cell phones or computers to access virtual learning. Therefore, they badly need in-class learning activities,” said Sri.

I hope TBM Kasih will keep contributing to the educational world in Papua.

Amid the limitations, Sri and TBM Kasih volunteers have retained their literary spirit for the sake of Jayapura residents. For the hard work of Sri and the team of instructors, TBM Kasih won the award for best village public library in the Best Subdistrict of Papua Province awards in 2021.

“I hope TBM Kasih will keep contributing to the educational world in Papua. The children of Papua should be literate at an early age so that they can further attend school without difficulty,” added Sri.

Sri Kurnawati

Born: Keerom, Papua, Oct. 27, 1988

Husband: Suryadi Jati Wahono Indro Kusumo

Children: three

Education: First degree in Educational Science, Department of Biology, Cenderawasih University, 2010

This article was translated by Aris Prawira.