Sopia Herawati, Raising the Hopes of Disadvantaged People
Sopia Herawati has made every effort to raise the hopes of disadvantaged communities to possess diplomas through school equivalence exams.
By
SUSIE BERINDRA
·5 minutes read
KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO
Sopia Herawati
Sopia Herawati has dedicated herself to early childhood education for over 20 years. Her wish is to offer quality education to children free of charge. She has made every effort to raise the hopes of disadvantaged communities to possess diplomas through school equivalence exams.
With great patience, Sopia taught child scavengers at Ibunda kindergarten on Friday noon (10/2/2023). The school occupies a house in the corner of an alleyway located in the Puri Bintaro Hijau housing complex, Pondok Aren, South Tangerang. In the morning, the house is used by Mutiara Hati kindergarten with school fees, while at noon it is for Ibunda kindergarten, which is free. This free school has 60 children registered, who diligently follow the learning activities.
“Come on, boys and girls, sit down orderly. Now I want to ask you, how many times do you bathe in a day? Who can answer?” said Sopia to the children aged four to five years old. The children were sitting on the floor of the classroom measuring 3 meters by 6 meters, its walls painted light green with various decorations crafted by the kids.
They scrambled to answer the question. Many of them gave wrong answers. Some said they took a bath once in the afternoon. Finally, a boy wearing a gray koko (long shirt) raised his hand and answered, “Twice. In the morning and afternoon.”
After this, the children sang, swaying along with the tune. In a corner of the room two other teachers, Sumarni Apriliani and Betti Widianingsih, were preparing papers with line and shape patterns for the children to work on.
“We teach them according to the early childhood education (PAUD) curriculum. Besides, they also learn to observe etiquette, manners and pray. In order to make them learn, patience is needed because sometimes they prefer to join their parents as scavengers, particularly for the money they expect to make,” said Sopia.
Many of their marriages are unregistered so their children have no birth certificates.
The three teachers also watched over them as they played in the open air. They were rushing to play on the swings and merry-go-round. Their faces were gleaming with cheerfulness. Some parents were waiting for them in front of the school. They are scavengers in Iwapi/Sarmili, East Jurangmangu, South Tangerang, Banten.
Before the pandemic, Sopia and other teachers went to junk stalls to teach early-age children. There is also a public learning center for residents wanting to secure diplomas through school equivalence exam Packages A, B, and C (all levels). “When it rained, it was muddy there. But we strived to be present to teach them. As of the end of last year, the learning activities were moved to this school,” she said.
Sopia also handles the residential documents of scavengers. “Many of their marriages are unregistered so their children have no birth certificates. The other case is that they have identity cards (KTP) from their places of origin and have difficulty in obtaining KTP in South Tangerang,” said Sopia.
KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO
Sopia Herawati
Dedication
As a student at Nusantara Islamic University, Bandung, in 1988, Sopia already intended to become a teacher. With her bachelor’s degree in education, she taught students of an elementary school (SD) in Cimahi. In 1992, Sopia moved to Jakarta and taught in Ar-Rahmaniyah Senior High School, Depok.
“After getting married, my husband, who is also a teacher, and I wanted to help children who are unable to go to school due to the high cost of education. Common people are thus marginalized. I also want our children to get used to learning activities,” related Sopia.
So in 1998 she set up Ibunda Kindergarten. Along with her spouse, Imansyah, Sopia prepared school equipment like tables, chairs, books and stationery. The students they taught were children of workers living around Sopia’s house. At the time, they were still contract teachers so their initial step was to build the awareness or raise the hopes of disadvantaged people.
The school has continued since, although Sopia has had to manage it on her own after the passing of her husband about 10 years ago. Sopia also taught candidates for kindergarten teachers in Polaris Kindergarten Teachers’ Education Jakarta. After finishing their one-year education, graduating teachers were asked to teach in Sopia’s school.
While struggling for disadvantaged children’s education, Sopia has also deepened her knowledge to earn the status of civil servant. Despite her bachelor’s degree, she had to attend college again. She chose to study at the Open University followed by master’s program at the Arrahmaniyah College of Pedagogy and Educational Science (STKIP). Sopia specialized in the educational science of the subject of Pancasila state philosophy and civics.
They have high spirits. Indonesia maintains those who can further promote the nation.
“I studied in college again for my appointment as a civil servant [PNS]. With the PNS status in 2015, I get a Rp 7 million [US$451.54] regional welfare allowance, with an additional Rp 3 million certification allowance that can be used to pay the school operational costs. Besides, Ibunda receives an educational operation fund,” she said.
Sopia’s desire to enhance Indonesian children’s education never fades away. “They have high spirits. Indonesia maintains those who can further promote the nation. Hopefully they can also be granted scholarships for their education to fulfill their aspirations,” added Sopia.
Sopia Herawati
Born: Bandung, 21 August 1962
Education:
- Karya Pembangunan Teachers’ Training School Cimahi (1982)
- Bachelor’s degree, Nusantara Islamic University, Bandung (1988)
- Bachelor’s degree, Open Universitas, Pondok Cabe (2015)
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