boby tambunan
IPMI International Business School
Amelia Naim Indrajaya
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Building libraries in remote areas to improve the quality of knowledge of children and surrounding communities.
Building a library without government funding and involving the private sector is difficult. Asking money to philanthropy creates problems with sustainability. An idea was born from a group of people who were concerned about the living conditions of people in remote areas to be able to build a library that would improve the quality of their lives.
Funding for the project is generated by selling general products that are commonly used in everyday life such as bags, clothes, clothes, glasses, hats, and some household handicraft products. In addition, the organization holds workshops such as making tulips from patchwork, making sports activities that come from payment of entrance tickets and several other innovative activities. It is time to be creative and innovative in raising funds while promoting green and sustainable business models.
The leader of BETA PEDULI was inspired when he visited one of the remote areas for a vacation. At that time he was talking with children in the area about their educational background and what they liked to do during their free time. He found that reading was not one of their habits. When asked further, one reason for this that the children mentioned was the limited amount of reading material. They explained that they cannot spend much time in the school library because they have to go home when class is over to help their parents work in the fields. They mentioned they were generally not accustomed to reading. Newspapers, magazines, storybooks are very difficult to find in the area.
Limited internet access contributes to the lack of access to knowledge or information in the area. This is what made BETA PEDULI feel the need to work together to build a library that can be used by the community in improving the quality of knowledge which will later have an impact on improving the quality of life.
The local community (especially children) will be very enthusiastic in welcoming the library. They participated in the building process until completion. They use the library well when reading books that are in the collection and treat the books with care. The impact of the library is the increase in children's willingness to learn, which is recognized by parents of children who actively take the time to read in the library.
Libraries also contribute to the health of individuals and the community by providing a welcoming environment where people can learn more about their health condition, for example, or how to support the people they care for, in their own time and on their own terms. Reading Well Books on Prescription, which offers self-help reading through public libraries, is just one example of how libraries can provide cost-effective support for existing services.
BETA PEDULI getting funds to build a library from selling souvenirs, gimmicks and dolls that are their mascots. They also conduct sports training activities, which generate revenue by inviting experts and including registration fees if they want to join this activity. Both of these methods have proven effective in getting funding to meet the cost of building a library.
There is no service fee for building a library, because BETA PEDULI get support from the local government and local community organizations to help in the spirit of mutual cooperation. Building a library certainly costs a lot. At present the budget allocated by the government is used to build or revitalize libraries in schools, where only students at the school can enjoy these facilities. BETA PEDULI asks, what about their parents who mostly never felt comfortable sitting and learning in school? The community environment, especially parents, are very enthusiastic in building this library. They worked together to build a library without expecting anything in return. This is because they are aware and confident that it will be useful to improve the quality of their lives along with the knowledge they get from reading.
Many children spend their time reading in the library when there is free time. parents gather to discuss and ask their children what they read at the library. In the end children improve their learning at school and this is seen by their parents as well.
For parents, the library is very useful for finding information related to the business or work they are undertaking. The majority of parents are farmers and gardeners, and they can learn how to improve business results and market effectively. Selected books that are useful for local people include those on how to improve the quality of crop production, how to choose a business with small capital, how to use land maximally (for example while farming can also be used to raise livestock), how to manage employees in a manner that is fun and can produce productive performance. The selection of the right books is one of the reasons why people ultimately want to visit and even spend time reading in the library.
All levels of society benefit from the existence of libraries as adding information to improve the quality of their lives.
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BETA PEDULI Indonesia (Library Revitalization Youth Support for Indonesian Environment) was established in January 2016. It is a community-based movement led by young people who are worried about the educational and environmental conditions in rural areas.
This organization was started by young people from various regions in Indonesia who have diverse professional backgrounds.
The naming of BETA PEDULI ID is an acronym (in Bahasa Indonesia) "BEDAH PERPUSTAKAAN PEMUDA DUKUNG LINGKUNGAN INDONESIA". BETA PEDULI translated to English means "I CARE."
According to MARS 2016, Indonesia ranks 60th of 61 countries in terms of interest in reading. This reality inspired BETA PEDULI Indonesia to do more activities designed to motivate students to read through library revitalization, including providing books. The organization was also inspired to teach educators (teachers and literacy activists) to understand literacy process and technique as well as library management in school libraries and reading parks.
BETA PEDULI Indonesia uses local youth as driver to encourage all elements of society to take part in social and environmental activities. The commitment is 10 schools and reading parks every single year.
