Ansri Nauw A Tutorial House for Sorong Children

Ansri Nauw not only performs her duty as a SD 13 teacher in Sorong city, Southwest Papua, but she has also opened Rumah Belajar EGAD Kairos, a free literacy tutorial house for children in the complex of her settlement.

KOMPAS/FABIO MARIA LOPES COSTA

Ansri Nauw

It was exactly 3:00 p.m. when Ansri started teaching on the terrace of her house on Jl. Tanjung Dovior, Klabulu subdistrict, Malaimsimsa district on Tuesday (4/4/2023).

She began the activity with a drawing and coloring lesson to train children’s imagination and creativity. She distributed white pieces of paper to about 30 children aged 4-12 on the occasion. Patiently, she was guiding them.

The drawing and coloring lesson lasted for around 30 minutes. Thereafter, she related a folktale. “Boys and girls, I’m going to tell the story of ‘A Cuscus and the Sun’. Who has ever seen a cuscus? Does a cuscus live in a hole under the ground or on a tree?” said Ansri.

Storytelling is one of Ansri’s ways of stimulating reading interest among children. In the era of rapid technological developments, many children are now frequently wasting their time playing with gadgets.

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After finishing the story, Ansri usually introduces letters and figures to children still unable to read. Only when there are children already familiar with letters and figures will they be taught to read in phases until the class ends at 5:00 p.m.

“A total of 30 children learning at Rumah Belajar EGAD Kairos are now able to read and do arithmetic. Some of them are even capable of reading, although they are still in kindergarten,” revealed Ansri.

There is a library beside the terrace of Ansri’s house to support the reading interest of her trainees. The place about 1 meter wide and 2 m long has a collection of around 500 children’s storybooks, school textbooks and books with general themes.

A total of 30 children learning at Rumah Belajar EGAD Kairos are now able to read and do arithmetic.

Small action

Ansri named the tutorial house EGAD, an acronym for Ester, Gabriel, Abraham and Daud. The four are her most enthusiastic participants capable of drawing other children to learn at Rumah Belajar EGAD Kairos. Kairos is a Greek word meaning, “the time of God”.

Ansri opened Rumah Belajar EGAD Kairos after noticing many youths in her complex were frequently fighting, getting drunk on the street and mugging. Some of them were once even involved in a murder case.

Most of the youths with such behavior turned out to have not finished their education. It was due to minimum parental attention and their families’ economic condition. They had no fixed jobs either.

KOMPAS/FABIO MARIA LOPES COSTA

Ansri Nauw reads fairy tales to her students at the EGAD Kairos Learning House in Sorong City, Southwest Papua, on April 4, 2023.

She opened the tutorial house on 5 October 2019. At present, some 60 children follow Ansri’s learning activity. They come from the neighborhood unit (RT) 001 of Klabulu subdistrict and its vicinity.

Owing to her busy schedules as a State Elementary School (SD) 13 teacher, Ansri is now only tutoring on Saturday and Sunday from 3:00-5:00 p.m. On certain days she gives special guidance to children who are not yet fluent in reading and writing.

Children already capable of reading and writing are given other subjects such as Indonesian language, English language and mathematics.

Lately, Rumah Belajar EGAD Kairos has worked in synergy with Sorong Raya Waste Bank, with the aim of campaigning for environmental cleanliness among children from an early age.

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Entering early April, children learning at Ansri’s tutorial house started bringing packets of plastic waste from their homes. Later, Ansri delivered the packets of rubbish to officers of Sorong Raya Waste Bank.

The children will receive money in compensation for their waste collection at Sorong Raya Waste Bank. Each of them will get a savings book from the bank.

“EGAD Kairos is the first tutorial house collaborating with Sorong Raya Waste Bank. The children are very eagerly involved in gathering rubbish to be brought to the waste bank,” said Ansri.

Ansri also enjoys support from a number of figures concerned about the importance of literacy for children in Papua, including Dayu Rifanto, Sorta Tampubolon, Leo Robert, Riyanti and two German nationals, Finley and Lusy.

I hope I can contribute to the solution of the illiteracy issue in Papua and build children’s strong character and broad outlook.

“These figures provide considerable assistance in generating ideas for this tutorial house. They contribute books, funds for the procurement of tables for learning and bookshelves, while joining as teachers at Rumah Belajar EGAD Kairos,” said Ansri.

Ansri has certainly faced some challenges in managing Rumah Belajar EGAD Kairos over the last three years. Several times, Ansri’s house was hit by floods when heavy rain poured down on Sorong city.

Ansri recruited three people to teach at Rumah Belajar EGAD Kairos last year. She dug deep into her pocket to pay their honorariums. However, this year she can no longer employ them due to cost constraints.

“I will keep struggling for this tutorial house in spite of the various challenges. I hope I can contribute to the solution of the illiteracy issue in Papua and build children’s strong character and broad outlook,” added Ansri.

Ansri Nauw

Born: Sorong City, Southwest Papua Daya, 8 August 1983

Child: Miracle Esther Nauw

Education: Bachelor’s degree in the English Language, Faculty of Pedagogy and Teacher’s Training, Victory University, Sorong

Occupation: Teacher, State SD 13 Sorong

This article was translated by Aris Prawira.