Yulianto Spreading an Interest in Reading among Children
After he finished reading the book about marine animals, Yulianto read a second book chosen by the children. This book described the process of a chrysalis patiently transforming into a beautiful butterfly.
Three preschool children were sitting together in a house with a room serving as a library in Sumberjosari village, Karangrayung district, Grobogan regency, Central Java on Saturday noon (14/5/2022). They were looking attentively at a pop-up book being held up by Yulianto, 31, an occupant of the house and storyteller.
With full expression, Yulianto read the text of the book one line after another. The book was about sea animals.
As he read, Yulianto asked questions about the names of the animals or the colors of the creatures popping up from the book. The questions were enthusiastically answered by the children who were all under five years old.
After he finished reading the book about marine animals, Yulianto read a second book chosen by the children. This book described the process of a chrysalis patiently transforming into a beautiful butterfly.
As soon as Yulianto completed his narration, the children promptly rushed to play the toys they liked. “It has been customary here that the children are required to read or listen to me as I’m reading the books before they can play. This is my practice to make the children coming here accustomed to reading books,” said Yulianto.
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It is not without reason — Yulianto is carrying out a mission to debunk the assumption that the reading interest of Indonesians is low. The library science graduate of the Open University in Grobogan is convinced that it is not low, but some people still have difficult access to books.
The reading house is one of the four he manages in Grobogan. “Local people who wish to read books have to go to the regional library. It takes 45 minutes to reach there. It’s also difficult to buy books as they have to travel to Semarang or Solo that may be costlier than the books sought. Moreover, in the present condition, people tend to choose spending on food for survival instead of buying books,” he pointed out.
Egg boxes
In 2015, Yulianto, who already owned a collection of 100 books, gradually converted one room in his house into a reading room. It was named Rumah Baca Bintang (Star Reading House). In the beginning, Yulianto’s desire to set up the reading room in his house measuring 6 meters by 12 meters was opposed by his parents, Musmin and Soni Hindiarti.
They feared that the reading house would inhibit their family activity. Little by little, his parents yielded. They now fully support the good intentions of Yulianto and have even allowed the room previously occupied by Yulianto to be annexed to expand the reading house.
In its initial period, Rumah Baca Bintang was 2 meters by 3 meters in size. It had earthen floors and wooden walls dotted with holes. As he could not
afford to buy book shelves, Yulianto arranged his books on used wooden egg boxes.
Yulianto bought the egg boxes from egg sellers in the market at a price of Rp 2,000 (14 US cents) per box. Now, the reading house measures about 6 meters by 3 meters. Its floors are cast and cemented and its holed walls have been replaced. The collection in the reading house has also increased to at least 2,500 books.
The diverse selection of books were bought with Yulianto’s private money and partly with funds from donors. Around a month ago, Yulianto bought two book racks. However, the new racks are not yet sufficient to store his books so that some of the shelves from the egg boxes are still used.
Yulianto’s reading house is visited by children daily, especially those living around his house. Once in a while, students of local kindergartens are taken by their teachers to the reading house to read, or listen to Yulianto’s narrating.
Yulianto has never imposed charges for these activities. As time went by, Yulianto, who was already working as a school librarian decided to quit his job. He chose to dedicate himself to the world of literacy and learn a new skill — storytelling.
The decision was at first opposed by people around him. Yet Yulianto was not afraid. “My parents very much contested [my decision] because I left my job as a librarian with a monthly salary. Meanwhile, the job of a storyteller does not offer a regular income. Only when invited to tell a story will income be earned,” Yulianto explained.
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Having gained storytelling proficiency, Yulianto is often booked to tell stories in various places. He has used the honorariums from this work to open four other reading houses in his home region. The four reading houses are located in Karangrayung district, Tawangharjo district and Grobogan district.
When opening the four reading houses, Yulianto had the same reason as that for founding Rumah Baca Bintang, to make access to books easier. But he does not only wait for readers’ visits to his reading houses, Yulianto is also proactive. He dubs his activities as reading peddling, where he tours remote parts of Grobogan carrying dozens of books and puppets as storytelling aids. The puppets are named, among others Kam-kam, Mona, Mumun and Chelsea.
Never deterred
When peddling, Yulianto frequently goes through forestland where along his way he encounters wild animals, including snakes. The terrain traversed is not always smooth, but is hilly, rocky and muddy.
“I was once wading through flood water when returning from peddling. At the time, the books I carried in my knapsack were all drenched, even though I had wrapped the books in plastic sheets,” he said.
Yulianto also had an accident once as he was heading to a peddling destination. The youngest of two siblings suffered bone fractures in the right knee and shoulder. The injuries prevented Yulianto from doing any activity for about two and a half months. Despite the various difficulties. Yulianto claims he has never been deterred.
For him, the hardship he faces while peddling pays off after the books he brings are read by children. Not infrequently, the children he visits ask Yulianto to return and bring along other books.
Now, Yulianto’s reading peddling is done routinely each week. As is the case with his peddling journey, Yulianto’s efforts to spread literacy has not been easy either. His path was impeded in 2019 when Yulianto, as a regular blood donor, was informed by the Indonesian Red Cross that there was something wrong with his blood. He was recommended to undergo an examination.
Like being struck by lightning in broad daylight, he was shocked to be diagnosed positive with HIV. Yulianto’s days thereafter were no longer the same. As a cheerful man, he turned melancholic. Within a month, his weight dropped by 12 kilograms due to stress.
“It was the lowest point in my life. I was mentally down, I got depressed,” he recalled.
During the hard time, people visited and gave mental strength to Yulianto. He was even suggested immerse himself even further in his storytelling. Bit by bit, Yulianto started rising again. His unique ability to spread literacy while telling stories was increasingly sought after. Storytelling orders were come in, including one from the Communications and Information (Kominfo) Ministry.
“Returning from the Kominfo Ministry, I went by bus. While waiting at the bus stop, a group of children came along to greet me. Later, an acquaintance who went home with me convinced me that the children were
impressed by my stories. From then on, my self-confidence grew even more,” he said.
Returning to the program, Yulianto has been even more involved in spreading literacy through storytelling in several regions like Sukabumi and Banten. In these areas, Yulianto was invited to entertain and relieve the trauma of the child victims of natural disasters.
Yulianto
Born: Grobogan, 19 July 1990
Education:Open University, Library Science Department
Award: Semangat Astra Terpadu Untuk (SATU) Indonesia Award for education in 2021 from PT Astra International
(This article was translated by Aris Prawira).