Enjoy the ride: Emik cycles from Yogyakarta to Bali to encourage people to read.(JP/Bambang Muryanto)

Twenty-seven-year-old Miftahudin, or Emik, pedals his old bicycle energetically. On the rear of his bicycle hangs a gunny sack containing books, bamboo flutes, children’s toys and a bag filled with clothes, a blanket and a jacket.

Emik, who works as a market porter, is traveling from his hometown of Cirebon, West Java, to Bali. He has one mission: to encourage children to read.

In each city he stops at several elementary schools and encourages children to play, create artwork and read his books.

“I want to save children and make them fond of reading books and playing. They no longer play traditional toys as they prefer playing digital games and are influenced by television programs that are not educative,” he told The Jakarta Post in Yogyakarta recently.

Emik, who only finished seventh grade, has established a mobile library in his hometown. He modified a motorcycle and attached a boat-shaped sidecar to carry books, toys and carving tools.

He calls the mobile library safinatun najah (savior boat). He wants children to have broad knowledge and play traditional games with other children.

Each week, he “sails” from one school to another in Cirebon and tempts children with a game of snakes and ladders with prizes, does magic tricks with a wallet that can burst into flames or makes simple carvings to attract children to his motorbike stall and look through his books.

“I work as a porter at the Sandang clothes market in Cirebon twice a week and earn between Rp 100,000 [US$7.5] and Rp 200,000 each time, which is enough to buy gasoline and drive around,” said Emik, who lives in Tegalgubug Lor village in Cirebon regency.

He said he became motivated to cycle to Bali to further promote reading among children. He added that traveling by bicycle was environmentally friendly.

It is common knowledge that the majority of Indonesian children have very little interest in reading books.

According to a 2012 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization report, out of every 1,000 Indonesian children, only one child finishes reading a book a year. The situation is much different from that in Europe, where a child can read 25 books a year.

In every city he has passed, Emik stopped randomly at several schools. The school children greeted him with joy because they could read books on fables, legends or philosophy thanks to his library.

Every child who is able to answer a question in the snakes and ladders game is given a bamboo flute as a prize.

“In Tegal [Central Java], school children asked me to stay in the city,” he said with a smile.

He has also given textbooks to street libraries he saw on his journey.

He said he had been saddened by a recent incident in Bandung, West Java, in which soldiers disbanded a street library.

Emik, who attended several pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) in Yogyakarta, stayed there for a week. He referred to Yogyakarta as a “tiger’s den”, explaining that it was because it was where many smart people gathered.

“I was in Yogyakarta especially to study,” he said humbly.

He said he learned to write from a travel writer and novelist in Yogyakarta. Together with several artists, he engaged in a lot of discussions and learned to make cord bracelets from Agung Geger, an artist who earlier helped Emik build his mobile library.

“Emik is a gemblung [crazy person]. He has extraordinary zeal to cycle around to encourage an interest in reading among children,” said Agung.

At noon, after excusing himself to continue on his journey, Emik started cycling alone to Surakarta, and from there to other cities. He hopes to return home to Cirebon in October.

Emik, who admires the late East Java Muslim cleric Hamim “Gus Miek” Tohari Djazuli, said he just wished to be of use to others. He humbly said he wished to be like chicken manure.

“Chicken manure is always removed from the streets, but it can still be useful as fertilizer,” said Emik, the youngest of three siblings.

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