12 Amazing Years for Papuan Children’s Literacy
Once a week, around 2:00 PM, Mama Yunne uses her boat to pick up children and take them to the Reading House (Rumah Baca). She has been transporting children and accompanying them at the Reading House for 12 years. It's not uncommon for Mama Yunne to use her own money to buy boat fuel. However, she faithfully carries out her role for Papuan children, so they can become more skilled at reading and writing.
Without a figure like Mama Yunne, children in villages in Sentani Regency, Papua, would struggle to access out-of-school literacy activities. Villagers rely solely on boats for transportation. Sometimes parents are also busy farming or fishing, making it impossible for them to transport their children for activities outside the home. This is the role Mama Yunne has taken on. For her, it's better to transport the children around her than for them to miss out on playtime and learning outside of school.
"Mama wants to do this because it's a calling. My heart has become one with the children. If not Mama, then who else? Mama is happy to experience the ups and downs with the children," she said.
In addition to transporting the children, Mama Yunne is primarily a mentor at the Reading House. The Reading House is a place where children can play and learn literacy and numeracy materials. The presence of the Reading House in the middle of the village is a significant effort to improve the literacy skills of children in Sentani Regency. The existence of the Reading House is a collaboration between the community and Wahana Visi Indonesia (WVI).
"Since 2013, I've been involved in activities with WVI, as a children's mentor. WVI gave me training, and I returned and applied it in our respective Reading Houses. Back then, it was still called the Children's Study Group, now it's changed to Reading House," Mama Yunne recounted.
For Mama Yunne, activities at the Reading House are more than just teaching children to read and write. She also instils positive values in the children she mentors. Whether in the boat or in the Reading House, Mama Yunne always provides encouragement and advice for the children to be enthusiastic about learning both at school and outside of school, to be good children, and to be an example for other children.
Her heartfelt commitment to mentoring the children in her village has successfully led several children to pursue higher education. Today, Mama Yunne continues to follow her heart's calling. "Mama's hope is that Papuan children become good children. Useful for their families, for their villages, for their surrounding environment," she stated.
Mama Yunne's sincerity and dedication have made a meaningful contribution to the future of many children in Sentani Regency. From Mama Yunne, the children see how a mentor truly cares about their lives. Therefore, the children she mentors always pray for Mama Yunne to be healthy so she can continue to transport and teach them at the Reading House.
Mama Yunne’s interview and documentation is contributed by Kompas and Good News From Indonesia, compiled when visited WVI’s assisted villages in Sentani Regency, Papua.
Author: Mariana Kurniawati (Communication Executive)
Documentation: Nasrun Katungka (Kompas Journalist)
