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Woman fights illiteracy among disadvantaged kids
Basic need: Tien Suryantini (left) interacts with pupils at LSM Edukasi Dasar in Depok, West Java
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Basic need: Tien Suryantini (left) interacts with pupils at LSM Edukasi Dasar in Depok, West Java.(JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
A pink-walled open classroom with a small yard tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Jl. Cagar Alam in Depok is where Tien Suryantini, 62, spends most of her days among the chatter of 53 children aged 5 to 10.
Tien, who is affectionately known by locals as “Bu Desi” (Desi’s mom), teaches in the school she founded called LSM Edukasi Dasar (Basic Education NGO). She greeted The Jakarta Post reporter with a smile, offering breakfast of rice and various condiments as the classroom was filled with mothers and children enjoying their mid-morning meal after a class.
“The dads work in the mosque, taking care of the mosque’s cleanliness. Some also work as motorcycle taxi drivers, scavengers, project workers, that sort of thing,” she said, motioning toward the children.
LSM Edukasi Dasar, established in 2005, is known by locals as the “free” school in the area. No admission fee or any tuition is charged; children are welcome to join and learn. Although having had several volunteers in the past, Tien handles the school singlehandedly.
Back in 1993, Tien caught a boy from the neighborhood writing inappropriate words on her house. “I said, ‘Hamdani, why did you write those things on my wall? Can you read it?’ and he answered, ‘No.’ It turned out that he had been taught to write those things by older kids in the area. From that point onwards, I was moved to teach these children to read,” Tien told the Post on April 12.
“So I asked them whether they wanted to learn how to read and write. They said they wanted to, but not in the mornings, because they had to work as scavengers,” she said.
Tien began teaching the teenagers in her garage through lessons starting after 10 a.m. as they had to work in the morning. “It took them about three years to finally recognize letters and read, albeit not very fluently,” she recalled. “The most important thing back then was that they could read, write and count, so that they would not be tricked when doing their work,” she added, noting that their slow learning was largely caused by delayed brain development because of a lack of nutrition and many other factors.
As time passed, Tien’s students grew in numbers and got younger. She also took in special-needs children. Tien established her school as an NGO, with the help of a University of Indonesia (UI) student in 2005. “The UI volunteers fought for me; they wanted me to have a legal entity, be it as an NGO, a foundation or PKBM [education-related NGO]. I chose NGO because I didn’t want to be tied down,” Tien explained.
Having a legal entity has helped Tien run LSM Edukasi Dasar without disturbance, as some of her neighbors had accused her of spreading Christianity.
“My house nearly got burned down. From about 2002 until 2005, I experienced all sorts of terror. One of the UI volunteers, Arinta Puspitasari, was a Muslim, and she said to me I should go on teaching,” she said.
Having a legal entity does help with getting donations, but she does not have many regular donors. Tien’s church donates Rp 750,000 (US$53.24) per month to the NGO, while the remaining operational costs are still paid out of Tien’s own pockets.
In 2010, Tien moved her class from a garage into a simple roofed structure built on a small patch of land owned by her and her husband. With the help of a former volunteer, she built the open classroom she still uses today.
“When this school was built, people started talking because they thought we were building a church. I did receive help from one of my volunteers who went to GKI Pamulang. She helped us with fundraising and got funds from the church,” Tien said with a smile.
“[The community youth here] wanted me to sign a written statement that this building would not be used as a place of worship. I was OK with that because that was never my intention. This [building] was intended to be a neutral place for all religions and this is why in this school we don’t have religion as a subject. We only teach general knowledge.”
Since occupying the new school, Tien has released an average of 40 children to formal schools annually, with the highest number being 70. Having no walls to separate classes, Tien asks the students to sit according to their designated age groups, with each student’s mother accompanying her child throughout the lessons that usually take two or three hours. Not worried about how packed the space can be, Tien is convinced that the presence of the mothers in the class with their children is very important.
The NGO’s biggest challenge aside from getting regular donors is finding Tien’s successor who would continue her legacy. “I want somebody who doesn’t think of worldly things anymore because if they still think of material things, this school won’t work. It’s nearly impossible to find this kind of volunteer,” she said.
