Community Library Safe For Children: Jakarta, West Java

By Barrie | May 21st, 2007 | No Comments

Eight-year-old Wirna loves to read, but not at home. Story books and magazines are too expensive for her parents. But Wirna, who lives with her parents near the railway tracks in Petamburan, Central Jakarta, has found her haven: a library in a nearby low-cost apartment complex. Rather than play near the tracks, as many other children do, Wirna has been able to use the library to pore over story books when she gets home from school.

With its modest story book collection and PC facilities, the library has been a refuge for Wirna and other children from the crowded poor neighborhood.

“I like coming here and doing things on the computer,” she said while playing with her ponytail.

Wirna’s house was one of many burnt down in the Petamburan fire of late last year.

In Jakarta, community libraries, usually located in dense neighborhoods, have provided children with a useful way to spend their time, as well as acting as a safe haven from violence and drugs.

Roudhotul Zubaidah, a manager for the library in Petamburan, which is funded by the Lamongan-based Sumber Pendidikan Mental Agama Allah (SPMAA) Foundation, said the children who visited the library were mostly school dropouts.

Siti Wulandari, an assistant at the library, said most of the children at the library of elementary school age were going to class. But she said, “the teenagers, who should be in junior high school, mostly don’t go to school anymore”.

She said the reasons for that could be either economic or merely that “they don’t see the use of going to school.”

Zubaidah said the purpose of the community library, besides providing reading material to children, was to reach out to those in need of special protection. She said they included street children, child workers, trafficked children, child prostitutes and children involved with drugs.

Zubaidah said some children in the neighborhood had quit taking drugs like shabu-shabu (crystal methamphetamine) after coming to the library.

“Mostly, the children who use drugs take them because of peer pressure. By hanging out here they can avoid seeing their drug taking peers,” she said.

The SPMAA library is one of the many community libraries spread out in the city.

The non-profit organization 1001Buku says there are about 70 community libraries in their network in Greater Jakarta.

Zubaidah said some 340 children are members of their library.

“Some kids just hang out here without reading the books or using the computers. But hanging out here takes them off the streets and frees them from the influence of drugs and other dangerous activities,” she said.

She said she told children and parents in the neighborhood, especially the slum areas, about the library. “By word of mouth, little by little a lot of kids are coming here,” she said.

Another community library in Tebet has reached out to children in a more active way.

Volunteer workers from the Mitra Mandiri community library have visited Jakarta’s Kalibata, Manggarai, Matraman, and Cililitan railways stations to get to street children.

Dede Suhendi, 25, a volunteer at the An Nur Muhiyam Foundation, said the program has been carried out every Tuesday and Thursday since February.

“We think we need to jump the ball and go out and meet the children, rather than expect them to come to us,” he said.

Volunteers go to the stations with a car called the “Traveling Mobile Class”.

The volunteers set up the two tents and arrange small chairs and tables for outdoor classes.

“We can gather 30 children from the ages of five to 19,” Dede said.

The volunteers then teach the children to read, write and count.

“Many of the children, even the grown up ones, can’t read or write properly,” he said.

“We want to give them at least those basic skills.”

Dede said he was once a street child himself and also frequented the community library.

“This community library made me think forward and start thinking about my life,” he said.

“Now I hope I can do something for other children.”

Prodita Sabarini