Mobile library brings books, and hope, to kids<\/p>\n
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
After a seemingly endless journey navigating the small alleys in
\nJatiwaringin, Bekasi, The Wandering Books Foundation's van
\nfinally stopped in front of a modest house.<\/p>\n
Two librarians unloaded six boxes filled with books, placing
\nthem on the carpeted floor of the two meter by three meter
\ngarage.<\/p>\n
Soon, school kids started arriving at the garage, borrowing
\nsome books for free or reading them on the spot. Mothers whose
\nchildren were still in school also stopped by to pick up the
\nbooks their young ones like to read.<\/p>\n
\"These children hardly have access to books. Some of their
\nschools don't even have libraries. Thanks to Ibu (Mrs.) Roos here
\nwho proposed this to us and provides the space for a library, we
\ncan make a stopover once a week. It's been two years now,\" said
\nthe foundation's director Nasti Reksodiputro.<\/p>\n
While the Harry Potter series may fly off the shelves in the
\ncity's upmarket bookstores, there are still many children who
\nhave no access to the written word. Worse still, many children
\nare illiterate.<\/p>\n
\"We often find children who are in the third grade of
\nelementary school, but still can't read,\" said Nasti, an English
\nlecturer in the University of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
She was not talking about kids in rural areas in provinces
\nlike Papua, where the illiteracy rate for females and males of 10
\nyears and over in 2000 was a staggering 40 percent, according to
\nthe Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS).<\/p>\n
Childhood illiteracy is common in such areas as the Cilincing
\nslum, North Jakarta, or in remote Teluk Naga in Tangerang,
\nBanten, a relatively short distance from the capital.<\/p>\n
\"In Teluk Naga, for instance, teachers are so rare that junior
\nhigh school students are being taught by senior high school
\nstudents. Infrastructure is poor, they don't have libraries. No
\nwonder that the students can't read, because there are no books
\nto be read,\" Nasti said.<\/p>\n
With such poor conditions, it's little wonder the illiteracy
\nrate is so high. The 2002 National Socioeconomic Survey reported
\nthat the illiteracy rate for the population aged 10 years and
\nover in this country is 9.29 percent.<\/p>\n
The sorry condition has led a few parties, including Nasti's
\nfoundation and Yayasan Kesejahteraan Anak Indonesia (Indonesian
\nChildren Welfare Foundation) to launch mobile libraries that can
\nreach kids with limited access to books.<\/p>\n
Established in 1996, The Wandering Books Foundation now has a
\ntotal of 8,000 books and three vans which operate Monday through
\nThursday throughout Greater Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The foundation also has a program called Kotak Kelana (Book
\nbox landing) where people can rent a box of books for a month.<\/p>\n
\"There are still many neighborhoods who have asked us to stop
\nover. But our budget is limited. Vans need a lot of money, not to
\nmention for the drivers and librarian,\" Nasti said.<\/p>\n
\"We really depend on sponsorship, like Citibank who sponsored
\nschools in a couple of slum areas. The sponsorship ended this
\nyear, though, but we can't stop this program in those areas, we
\nfeel sorry for the kids.\"<\/p>\n
The love of books was clear from the children who dropped by
\nthe \"library\" that day. There are usually some 40 to 50 children
\nwho come to visit the mobile library at Jatiwaringin.<\/p>\n
At the same time that afternoon, another van also made a
\nregular visit to the Kebon Kosong area in Kemayoran, Central
\nJakarta. The local community provided several benches and a large
\numbrella under a tree in an alley just beside an elementary
\nschool building.<\/p>\n
Children quickly packed the space, some barefoot, but all of
\nthem eager to read. They also filled in a survey form from the
\nfoundation -- basic information about the kids and the kind of
\nbooks they like -- and cheered as they received bars of soap as a
\ngift.<\/p>\n
\"Unlike the popular belief that Indonesian people don't like
\nto read, there is indeed a reading interest among them. It's the
\nreading habit and opportunity that is lacking. Quality books are
\nalso rare and expensive,\" Nasti said.<\/p>\n
If you assume that it's only comic books that the children are
\nafter, think again. Six-year-old Gibran, for instance, dug a
\nreference book on popular science, reading with his mouth
\nslightly agape in the Jatiwaringin garage.<\/p>\n
\"Many children are really into science books. Once, though, I
\nspotted a few kids giggling over a page about reproductive
\norgans. I guess I have to prepare for that, to explain that those
\norgans are part of their bodies, and nothing is perverted about
\nthat,\" said garage owner Roos, who is a housewife.<\/p>\n
That is where the role of librarians is not just to distribute
\nbooks, but also to accompany children to read and discuss the
\ntopics.<\/p>\n
\"The adults have to be creative to create mood and motivation,
\nso that children's reading interest remain high. That's why
\nvolunteers are really needed for mobile libraries, although so
\nfar their role is still limited to storytelling,\" said Andri Yoga
\nUtami of YKAI, whose books have reached 10,000 people since YKAI
\nwas established in 1994.<\/p>\n
The mobile library, meanwhile, is not just a place where
\nchildren get to read: It's also a means to hang out with their
\npeers no matter what their financial backgrounds.<\/p>\n
\"In some areas like Jatiwaringin, not all of the children are
\npoor. I don't believe we have to separate poor kids with more
\nfinancially secure ones. If we mix them together, they will learn
\ntolerance and poor kids will be more confident,\" Nasti said.<\/p>\n
Mobile Libraries:<\/p>\n
Yayasan Pustaka Kelana (The Wondering Books Foundation)
\nJl. Kelapa Puan Timur III NB 4\/18, Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta
\nTel. (021) 4530572\/4501848
\nE-mail: pustaka_kelana@telkom.net<\/p>\n
Yayasan Kesejahteraan Anak Indonesia (YKAI)
\nJl. Teuku Umar No. 10, Central Jakarta
\nTel. (021) 3107030\/3905747<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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