“I find it fascinating being a reporter,” said Sukati or Mbah (granny) Kati as she is known.

Along with seven other elderly housewives in her neighborhood in Jomblang, Semarang, Central Java, she works as a reporter for a community publication, Koran Widya, which has printed two editions so far.

Published with the supervision of the Resource Development and Research Institution (LPPSP) in Semarang, the newspaper kicked off as an initiative to empower women to campaign for literacy in the area. “Housewives are capable of doing this because they have the potential,” LPPSP director Indra Kertati said.

The eight elderly women are recent graduates of KF, a functional illiteracy eradication program, at the Upaya Mandiri community learning center in Semarang.

They passed the program although they were barely able to read and write. The passing standards are relatively low, with participants only needing to be able to count and to write down their name.

”Regardless of their age, these women need a forum to put their new skills to work,” Indra said, underlining why the publication was needed.

The project’s Rp 25 million grant from the National Education Ministry is almost exhausted after the first two editions of the newspaper were printed on high-quality paper.

“We will use cheaper paper in the future to keep the project sustainable,” Indra said.

Sukati said she enjoyed reporting and was always enthusiastic about her assignments, adding that she sometimes had to wake up early just to cover an event. Sukati said she did not mind not receiving any pay for what she did.

“I’ve never been excited about making gembus,” said Sukati, who doesn’t carry writing tools or a tape recorder when reporting due to her limited writing skills.

However this has not dampened her high spirits. “What I do is just ask as many questions as possible and then recount it all to my supervisor. I can memorize everything,” she said.

Her colleague, 58-year-old street vendor Musiyem, also expressed enthusiasm. She said she had once left her food cart at the school where she usually sold sausages in order to cover an assignment.
”I was so embarrassed because of being unable to read and write back then. Now I’m more confident facing other people thanks to being trained to conduct interviews,” Musiyem said.

Unlike Sukati, Musiyem attempts to make use of her interview opportunities to improve her writing skills. She said she tried to make notes every time she covered an event or conducted an interview.

Their limited reading and writing skills often leave the amateur reporters arguing with each other in the field, not on the topic of the reporting but more on how to write particular words and how to pronounce them.

“God willing I will continue being a reporter for Koran Widya. I will also continue making gembus and continue with the education program until I can read and write well,” Sukati said.

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