The West Nusa Tenggara Literacy Volunteer Forum, with the support of INOVASI, celebrated National Children’s Day 2022 by building the spirit of learning and playing for children living in the Frontier, Outermost, Disadvantaged (3T) areas on Saturday and Sunday (23-24 July 2022). The volunteers visited Gili Air Island in North Lombok District and carried out various literacy activities involving children and primary school teachers there. In addition, the volunteers shared stories about the current state of literacy in West Nusa Tenggara and why literacy is important to be the common concern, especially for children on the tiny island who are often neglected.
The school faces various issues related to basic literacy. A number of teachers said that many of their students still experience reading difficulties even though they are already in upper grades. There are several reasons for this, including the lack of reading books for early grade children, to the large number of students in each class so that students who still experience problems in reading are often neglected, as well as the limited ability of teachers to teach reading.
On the occasion, the literacy volunteers introduced literacy learning approaches that suit the students’ ability level. This approach is expected to raise the literacy quality of children at the school. This approach has been carried out massively in West Nusa Tenggara and has successfully brought about change.
The Principal of SDN Gili Air, Ahmad Yani, apparently paid attention to the potential solutions presented by the volunteers. He admitted that he had heard about the student-focused learning during the socialization of the Kurikulum Merdeka that he attended some time ago.
After the meeting with the school, the literacy volunteers continued with various activities related to literacy and agility for the children on the island. There were colouring, fluent reading, sack running and cracker eating competitions. There was also a storytelling session hosted by the volunteers. Everything was exciting, lively and full of fun.