Today, Aldi smiles is wider than usual. This 17-year-old teenager is one of the kids who was nurtured in ‘Lembaga Pemasyarakatan (LaPas) Anak Pria Tangerang’ since November 2015.
Every day, Aldi is a student at the Rumah Belajar (RB) for male child prisoners. Together with 15 other youths, Aldi takes part in basic computer class at the Rumah Belajar that is 5×5 in size. From the outside, this RB is surrounded by windows coated with colorfully-painted bars.
Figure 1 – Behind the coloured bars, several children are busy learning computer skills
and taking advantage of the facilities available to them.
Aldi says that he has taken computer classes at this centre for 6 months, since April 2016. He is learning basic computer knowledge such as ‘Microsoft Office’.
“Before it was time to go to high school, I had already learned. Microsoft was already a type of game for me. I love the energy of the teachers here, as they are very relaxed. I can enjoy,” says Andi while smiling.
Figure 2- Some of the work completed by the kids at the Rumah Belajar. At the Rumah Belajar, they gain basic computer skills.
Aldi did not forget to share the knowledge that he received to the prison staff. “It’s been 10 months that I’ve been teaching Microsoft Word to prison library’s guard. Although I am no expert, I do not want to lose the knowledge that I gained,” adds Aldi.
As a result of engaging in criminal activity, Aldi has to pass through a period of detention for 2 years and 2 months. Because he is on parole, Aldi is scheduled to be free in May 2017.
“To get rid of the boredom, I often joke around with my friends. But usually when a friend is almost about to leave the prison, we have them leave with a clear message in mind: To never come back to prison. It is a state law. Feel bad for your parents. They have painstakingly put you first, only to see you stoop so low in society,” says Ali, stunned.
When sharing about his hopes and dreams, Aldi said that he dreams to be a journalist or novelist. “I want to pursue my dreams to be an interviewer that travels the world, and to work for a well-known newspaper.” I want to be a narrator of real-life stories – who knows? One of the stories could be mine…” closes Aldi.
Aldi is one of many Rumah Belajar students in the male prison in Tangerang, one out of the 70 YCAB’s Rumah Belajar that are located all over Indonesia. Computer skills is one of the subjects being taught in order to provide underprivileged youth with access to technology.