Literacy warrior: Literacy activist Kiswanti poses next to signage in her Lebak Wangi Reading Room community library in Parung village, Bogor, in West Jakarta. (JP/Sebastian Partogi)

It is better to light a candle instead of cursing the darkness, a wise man once said.

The absence of reading habits and critical thinking — essential for national advancement — among Indonesians is indeed worrying, but many grassroots activists are working hard to change the status quo and boost the quality of human capital in the next generation.

Kiswanti, a 54-year-old woman, runs Warung Baca Lebak Wangi (The Lebak Wangi Reading Room) in Parung village, Bogor, West Java, established in 1997.

She has been expanding her collection using just a small bike to carry books to a two-story community learning center equipped with a 2-by-10-meter library.

Kiswanti dropped out of school after the sixth grade because her parents could not afford tuition. She said this had driven her to nurture a better future in the next generation through literacy.

To attract local children to attend her workshops — aimed at increasing critical and creative thinking through effective reading habits — she blends educational activities with fun outdoor tasks.

“For instance, we will ask local children to take a trip around their neighborhood and take note of the kinds of plants that they find. Once they return, we will give them a book on botany and have them write the Latin names as well as descriptions of the plants based on the books,” she said.

Currently, an average of 150 people flock to Kiswanti’s library daily, where children and adults alike riffle through her collection of books and periodicals and attend workshops.

“We organize workshops for mothers also, like how to read fairytales to their children in interesting ways,” Kiswanti said.

Kiswanti’s library and community learning center are run by volunteers, who teach mathematics and computer science to paying students. All revenue from the courses then goes back to fund the learning center’s activities in a cross-subsidization scheme, according to her.

Aqmarina, the founder of Rumah Cerita (House of Stories), has similar goals in mind. Her community goes from school to school conducting activities that aim to instill creative and critical thinking as well as reading habits in children aged 8 to 18.

The fact that Aqmarina works a nine-to-five job does not stop her from overseeing the activities, which are also run by volunteers.

In August, the ASEAN Literary Festival entrusted the community to organize its fringe event for children, called the National Literary Gymboree.

The community will also organize the Festival Cerita Jakarta (Jakarta Story Festival) from Dec. 16 to 17. Attendees will have the chance to take part in various workshops, from writing to imaginary pen pals to having young journalists teach high school students to think critically using journalistic methods of research, interviewing and verification.

“We always encourage the children to present their work in front of other workshop participants to motivate them to be self-confident in expressing their thoughts freely,” Aqmarina said.