Did you know that Indonesia has a low percentage of reading interest which is 0.01 % or only 1 out of 10.000 people? And have you read or heard that Indonesia is being placed at 108 out of 188 countries in terms of Human Development Index? The research also found that there is an interesting correlation between reading interest and academic achievement, where people who read tend to be academically smart and place higher in class positions. This information has brought attention to the fact that reading can indirectly determine the welfare of society, and how education can break the poverty chain.
In celebrating the National Book Day 2016 in Indonesia, Do Something Indonesia invites and challenges all youth across the nation to enhance the interest of reading by giving or donating their books to others, such as friends, their local community, or organizations/foundations. The campaign is open and found online through the official website and Instagram of Do Something Indonesia.
Following this momentum, the campaign was also done by conducting campaign days out (offline) in Denpasar on May 16th 2016 where Do Something Indonesia in collaboration with Student Council of Faculty of Agriculture Universitas Udayana and Asosiasi Perusahaan Sahabat Anak Indonesia (APSAI) invited students and representatives of local communities and organizations to join the campaign. The participants gathered at D’Tunjung Resto and addressed the challenges on enhancing the quality of education in Indonesia, as well as how youth and society can make contributions to help the enhancement of reading interest. During the discussion the representative of APSAI revealed an interesting fact, Karangasem has a very low percentage in terms of Human Development Index and education quality that has manifested the real urgency for Bali to do something related to education and how each individual can enhance their self-development.
At the end of the gathering, all participants and invitees donated their books and joined the campaign at #BookForHope. Interestingly, each of the donors wrote a note in their book addressing their message to the recipient. At the conclusion of the event, there were around 250 books collected and ready to be distributed.
On the second day, May 17th 2016. Do Something Indonesia and our local partner visited Rumah Belajar YCAB – Yayasan Pasraman Gurukula (House of Learning) in Bangli to distribute the books for students in Rumah Belajar. When we arrived, we were welcomed by a beautiful performance of traditional Balinese dance performed by the students. It was a nice welcoming ceremony as everyone could feel their smiles and each of the movements. After the welcoming, which included a speech delivered by Bapak I Wayan Arsada as the Principal of the school, all the teachers and students were very happy and gladly received the collected books. Some of them recognized the importance of reading as they showed their spirit and interest to learn more and to attain good grades in class.
At the end of the two days, we all completely realized that books are indeed very important, especially for youth and those who are living in the rural areas. Our books can give them hope to know the world and to reach their dreams. Now, we challenge you to do something for your surrounding by joining the campaign #BookForHope on our website www.dosomethingindonesia.org and instagram @dosomething_id