JP\/19\/QURAN<\/p>\n
Koran in braille changes students' lives<\/p>\n
Indra Harsaputra
\nContributor\/Surabaya<\/p>\n
A smile bloomed on the face of Adi Subroto, who runs Surabaya's
\nYayasan Tunanetra Islam Karunia (Yaptunik), an Islamic foundation
\nfor the blind, when he learned that some of his students were
\neach able to read a verse from the Koran in turn.<\/p>\n
He was happy because his students had benefited from Koran-
\nreading lessons taught to them at Surabaya's school for blind
\nlearners, SLB 99.<\/p>\n
\"It's time to end today's lesson now. I hope you can continue
\npracticing what you have learned so that you can read the Holy
\nKoran as fluently as sighted people,\" Adi told his students when
\nthe voice watch, a type of watch specially designed for blind
\npeople, told them it was already noon. (Former president
\nAbdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid used the same type of watch during
\nseveral visits to Islamic boarding schools in East Java.)<\/p>\n
Adi said that the lesson on how to read the Koran was part of
\nthe school curriculum. Unlike other subjects, for example math,
\ngeneral knowledge and reading, the lesson is given twice a week
\nin the classroom.<\/p>\n
The students, however, also take extra Koran-reading lessons
\nevery day from a teacher who has mastered the braille writing
\nsystem. The lessons are given to them after school or during the
\nstudents' holidays.<\/p>\n
\"They are as enthusiastic as other people about implementing
\nreligious instructions. Some students have better self-control
\nafter reading the Koran,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Learning process<\/p>\n
It generally takes 6 months to a year for students to become
\nproficient at reading the Koran. The intelligence level of the
\nstudents is a determining factor in this respect. One student,
\nAli, who has been blind since he was born, took only six months
\nto be able to read the Koran properly. His friend, Mutain, on the
\nother hand, needed a year.<\/p>\n
Ali Murtado and Mutain, two of the school's 60 students, have
\nalso won awards in the Musabaqah Tilawatil Quran (MTQ Koran-
\nReading Contest), in Surabaya. As the top prize winner, Ali
\nrepresented Surabaya at the East Java MTQ. The second prize went
\nto Mutain. Both read the Koran using braille.<\/p>\n
Adi Subroto, himself a blind man, deserves praise for his
\ngreat efforts in making students proficient in reading the Koran.
\nHe has made sure that the Koran in braille is available in fairly
\nlarge quantities and has also set up a special foundation for the
\nblind.<\/p>\n
It is a sad fact that the Koran in braille is still quite
\ndifficult to find in Indonesia. Not a single mosque in Indonesia
\nhas one. Only in the Mecca Grand Mosque can you find the Koran in
\nbraille. It is placed at the King Abdul Azis and Al-Umrah gates,
\nthe two main gates of the mosque.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, the Koran in braille was produced in 1977.
\nWiyata Guna Foundation on Jl. Padjajaran 56 in Bandung and
\nYokatonis, a printing company for the Koran in braille in
\nParangtritis, Yogyakarta, once made and sold the book.
\nUnfortunately, they have stopped publishing it. Instead, they now
\npublish an Islamic magazine in braille.<\/p>\n
As the Koran in braille is quite difficult to find in
\nIndonesia, Adi, who is quite a famous masseur in Surabaya, has
\nbeen prompted to set up a foundation for the blind with the hope
\nthat they could later publish it.<\/p>\n
He worked hard to put together 30 chapters already published
\nin braille by Wiyata Guna Foundation and Yokatonis.<\/p>\n
Adi's foundation was established in 1995. Also, this year, he
\nbuilt a school on a private plot of land, measuring 206 square
\nmeters, in Benowo, Surabaya. Most of the donations for the
\nbuilding of the school came from his former massage clients and
\nfrom the Al Fallah Foundation.<\/p>\n
High production cost<\/p>\n
He said the greatest constraint in his effort to publish the
\nin braille was the high operational cost. To publish 30 chapters
\ntook six months, at a cost of Rp 1.5 million.<\/p>\n
Included in the cost was the purchase of special paper for
\nbraille printing. As the operational cost was very high, Adi was
\nable to produce only five copies. Three have been donated to a
\nspecial school for the blind in Tuban, East Java, and the
\nremaining two are used at his school.<\/p>\n
To ensure that all his students can read the Koran without
\nhaving to take turns, Adi, assisted by five other blind men,
\nproduced the Koran in braille verse by verse. To produce one
\nverse takes about two weeks at a cost of some Rp 100,000.<\/p>\n
\"East Java Governor Imam Utomo once made a donation of Rp 1.5
\nmillion for the production of the special Koran. The education
\nministry has never extended any assistance. In fact, only a few
\nof a total of 55 schools for blind students in Surabaya have the
\nKoran in braille.<\/p>\n
So, with whatever braille Korans he has at his disposal, Adi
\nenthusiastically teaches his students how to read verses from it.<\/p>\n
He has only one goal: To ensure that blind people can read the
\nKoran as easily as the sighted.<\/p>\n
In this context, it is also sad to say that books for the
\nblind are only available in a very limited quantity. That is why
\nthe development of formal education designed for blind people is
\nnow facing great constraints.<\/p>\n
Dina Ambarwati, one of the teachers in the school for blind
\npeople, agreed that the limited availability of books for the
\nblind was the greatest handicap in her teaching activities.<\/p>\n
That is why, she said, although the schools bought a package
\nof books for blind learners every year, some of the teachers
\noften took the initiative to change certain books into a braille
\nversion with the help of a blind man, who is assigned to type in
\nbraille the contents of the books that the teachers dictate to
\nhim.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know whether producing a braille version violates the
\nbook's copyright or not. However, as many existing books in
\nbraille are no longer in line with the curriculum, new books are
\nneeded. Unfortunately, books in braille are not only very
\nexpensive but are available only in limited quantities,\" she
\nnoted.<\/p>\n
The school or the foundation, she added, usually could not
\nafford to buy new books in braille because the donations made
\nwere also limited. \"We cannot ask the students' parents to bear
\npart of this cost as most of them are badly off.\"<\/p>\n
Another trick, she said, is to read the contents of new books
\nto students.<\/p>\n
She added that she often bought new books with her own money
\nto ensure that her students would not be left behind, especially
\nbecause the materials for the students' final examinations must
\nconform to the national curriculum.<\/p>\n
\"Sometimes, we exchange books with other schools for the
\nblind,\" she added.<\/p>\n
The availability of the Koran in braille was very important,
\nsaid Mustain, because it helped him understand Islam better. In
\naddition to listening to the preaching of the Islamic cleric, he
\ncould read the holy book himself, he added.<\/p>\n
\"Reading the Koran strengthens my faith. I have become more
\noptimistic about leading my own life,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Adi Subroto added that he never expected to receive any reward
\nfor what he did for blind students.<\/p>\n
The only thing he hopes to see is that blind children will
\nhave a better future than he.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp19quran-1447899208",
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