Erin Sumarsini tries to create a family link app, so that children’s and parents’ accounts are connected. In this way, they can monitor whatever is seen and read by their children in the cyber world.
By
WILIBRORDUS MEGANDIKA WICAKSONO
·6 minutes read
WILIBRORDUS MEGANDIKA WICAKSONO
Erin Sumarsini
Reading and writing has made the life of Erin Sumarsini, 43, even more meaningful. The former migrant worker in Taiwan is attempting to share her fondness for reading and writing with others. Along with her fellow migrant workers, Eric initiated Gemas or Gerakan Masyarakat Sadar Baca dan Sastra(literacy-conscious movement) and opened a library for housewives.
Since 2015, Erin and Nanik Riayati, a migrant worker from Kroya (Cilacap), along with 23 migrant workers in Taiwan, have set up five libraries, called Library for Mom, in several regions. It began in Erin’s village in Karangjati, Sampang district, Cilacap regency, Central Java. Later, they built the same libraries in Kediri, East Java; Lampung; and Kroya and Surakarta, Central Java.
“We got the idea that whoever returned to Indonesia first would open the first library. It turned out that I did. So, I started the first library in my house in Karangjati, while they were raising funds, gathering books and other resources,” said Erin when visited in Cilacap on Wednesday (22/3/2023).
At the library, Erin already owned about 500 books. Her fellow migrant workers later added around 1,000 more books on cooking, body or beauty care and children’s stories. “We indeed target mothers and children because the books or reading resources available are actually for this segment of readers,” said the mother of two.
With the passage of time and the return of fellow migrant workers to their respective villages, the number of libraries opened by the community of migrant workers has also increased. With an asset of around 1,000 books per library, this movement has distributed at least 5,000 books to the existing five libraries.
In order to develop the community, Erin joined the Pustaka Bergerak Indonesia (library in motion) network and followed the writing class organized by Diva Press Yogyakarta. Thanks to the broader network, Erin received one truckload of around 10,000 books from the founder of Diva Press, Edi Mulyono.
About 50 percent of the books have been sent to Bintang Mountains regency.
The great number of books prompted Erin to create a book bank. With free cargo literacy (FCL) service, she has delivered thousands of books to all parts of Indonesia. “About 50 percent of the books have been sent to Bintang Mountains regency [Papua Highlands],” said Erin.
With the end of the FCL program, Erin still arranges book deliveries with the help of college students performing student service duties (KKN) in villages. The books sent by Erin have inspired several villages to open libraries.
Now, while busily engaged in selling various snacks, Erin continues to dedicate herself to literacy. Keeping up with current developments, Erin offers digital literacy to school students. Through the Smartfren Community program, Erin as coordinator in Cilacap is campaigning for healthy utilization of the internet.
On Wednesday at noon, for instance, at a café in Cilacap city, along with 25 students, Erin asked Rakhmi Agustin to be a food content creator and share his experience in positive and productive internet utilization.
WILIBRORDUS MEGANDIKA WICAKSONO
Erin Sumarsini at the Smartfren Community Cilacap event at a cafe in Cilacap, Central Java, Wednesday (22/3/2023).
Avid reader
Erin, born in Cilacap, is the fifth of seven siblings. Since childhood, she has been fond of reading various publications like Panjebar Semangat, Suara Merdeka, Intisari and Jakarta Jakarta as well as literary books by AA Navis and Marah Rusli. The books were in the collection of her father, Cipto Susilo, who was a dhalang (shadow puppetteer) by profession in the Banyumas-Cilacap region.
Keenly absorbed in reading, Erin sorted waste paper in her house. The papers with interesting reading material were kept. The remainder was separated for recycling by her older brother. At the time, her brother happened to work as a seller of souvenirs made from recycled paper.
My head was full of many things, so I wrote to provide relief.
“Indirectly, I have read and learned English from the waste paper gathered by my older brother,” said the owner of the pen name Erin Cipta. The pseudonym Cipta was derived from her late father’s name.
Little Erin was also fond of writing poetry and short stories to be sent to a number of magazines and contests. Finally, her short story entitled “Titip Cinta buat Destria” (Send my love to Destria) won the best title at the provincial level when Erin was a student of State Senior High School (SMAN) 1 Ajibarang.
“At the time, writing was not something I embarked on seriously because I was in fact writing only as a kind of catharsis; my head was full of many things, so I wrote to provide relief,” she said.
Working in Taiwan
Owing to family economic constraints, Erin decided to leave for Taiwan to care for the aged. She spent two years working without a break. At intervals of work or when taking a very brief rest, Erin wrote. “For me, at that time, writing was intended to maintain sanity,” said Erin.
Under such limitations, Erin could manage to write a short story, “Yen Feng dan Carlos”. The work won the best short story title in the arena of Taiwan Literature Award for Migrants 2014, earning the Merit Award. In the following year, her short story, “Lelaki Pemberani di Jiangzicui” (The brave man in Jiangzicui), was also granted the same award.
In Indonesia in 2017, Erin expanded “Yen Feng dan Carlos” into a novel, Carlos, telling the story of a dog and a child with Down’s syndrome.
By reading and writing, Erin keeps trying to achieve self-actualization. She has grown and developed into a motivator of literacy in Cilacap by opening her house to everybody interested in reading at her library.
Erin advises housewives or parents in general to always follow the progress of the current era so as to become good friends of their children.
“Children are learning very fast. Parents should not be left behind by children in terms of knowledge. Make sure that parents are present,” said Erin, who is trying to create a family link app, so that children’s and parents’ accounts are connected. In this way, they can monitor whatever is seen and read by their children in the cyber world.
Erin Sumarsini
Born:Cilacap, 16 April 1979
Husband: Edi Prayitno, 46
Children:Two
Education:SMAN 1 Ajibarang (1994)
Activity:
- An initiator of Gerakan Masyarakat Sadar Baca dan Sastra
