Brilio.net/en - Contributions to Indonesias development can be done in various ways. 25-year-old Suraban is making his contribution through teaching; educating children in rural areas at the easternmost province of Papua in Indonesia.
With a bachelors degree in Indonesian Language and Literature Education from Yogyakarta State University, this bachelor was sent to Papua through The Bachelors Degree Education Program for Remote, Outlying and Disadvantaged Regions (Sarjana Mendidik di Daerah Tertinggal, Terluar, dan Terdepan), also known as the SM3T program.
Hailing from Turi, Sidorejo, Ponjong, Gunungkidul in Yogyakarta, Suraban has been assigned to teach the children at SMP N Satu Atap Kotaip Oklip Junior High School, located in the Oklip District of Pegunungan Bintang, Papua. The area is the easternmost region of Indonesia, which borders Papua New Guinea.
Having to teach in a rural area certainly comes with its own challenges. Getting there is extremely difficult and very strenuous, as the only form of access is by a small airplane without the ability to enter via land. Even with the plane, access depends on a number of factors.
We came from Sentani using a small aircraft from the AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics). At the time, our plane could not get into the Oklip District since the winds were too strong. Our plane almost hit a mountain. Fortunately, God was looking after us, Suraban said to brilio.net/en, Tuesday (25/8).
And that wasnt the most challenging part - since the plane could not reach the Oklip District, Suraban and his friends had to walk for four hours through difficult terrain to reach their destination.
The school was very quiet when I came. The building was quite good; the sad thing though was the state of the rural childrens education. Many of the children were not able to write and read even though they were already in Junior High School, said Suraban.
The children also have to travel for two hours every day to go to school. According to Suraban, there are only two teachers in the school, and both of them rarely come leaving only the headmaster regularly present at the institution.
The young teacher also faced communication problems with his students. Most of them had not mastered Bahasa Indonesia properly. The second problem there is the lack of learning facilities such as textbooks, said Suraban.
To make matters tougher, electricity is scarce. A few people use solar panels with lights that can only be lit after charging the panels for a couple of hours. Additionally, cell phone reception can only be received in Papuas urban areas.
Despite these conditions, Suraban is not discouraged. This is because he intended to join the SM3T program to educate the children of Indonesia.
It increases our enthusiasm to teach them, so that they can be freed from educational backwardness, Suraban added.
(brl/tis)
