I am working for a non-profit organisation called Rumoh Baca Hasan-Savvas (the Hasan-Savvas library). It was initiated to help eradicate illiteracy amongst young people from low-income families in coastal areas of Jambo Timu and surrounding villages in the district of Lhokseumawe and North Aceh. We believe that illiteracy and limited access to education keep people marginalized and vulnerable. In response to these issues, we feel compelled to assist by providing literacy education programmes and activities for young people in this region. One of our actions was to start a library for young people in rural areas, especially for school and university students. Our aim is to provide them with access to good quality books, so that they can broaden their knowledge and skills.
This month, I spent a week travelling around different districts of Aceh, observing, and talking with locals in remote areas, discussing the children’s everyday life there and how they access knowledge and information in addition to the formal education they receive in schools. From those discussions, I can see that there is a strong need for community libraries in some remote areas in Aceh, due to the geographical isolation of their location. Living in remote areas has isolated them from accessing libraries, reading good quality books that are interesting and appropriate to their age levels, and getting involved in literacy and recreational activities that support emotional and social development of children and youths. After discussion with colleagues and volunteers at our library, we decided to expand our mission to a broader demographic in rural and remote areas of Aceh.
The main goal of the project is to provide literacy education for children and young people in rural/remote areas of Aceh through establishing two new community libraries and associated literacy campaigns. To implement this vision, we will provide books and information to guide the local people in establishing their own community library to foster sustainability of the activities in their locations. Our target is to reach around 1000 children and young people throughout the region. To support the facilitation of our activities, we will work closely with the local community, authorities, schools and universities, and involve a pool of volunteers to facilitate the process of teaching and learning.
A complete story of me and what I am doing with my project can be found here: https://www.alumniportal-deutschland.org/en/member...
