Muhadi, In Anticipation to Gadgets with Books

Regina Rukmorini

· 6 minutes read

Muhadi is disturbed that many people, especially young people, are addicted to gadgets. According to him, the use of gadgets has been in an excessive level, making people busy in cyberspace and indifferent to the real world. To reduce addiction to the device, Muhadi tries to fight it with books.

Frankly speaking Muhadi doesn\'t really like the present lifestyle of young people, who tend to rely on gadgets for many things, including seeking information and socializing.

"They are busy with themselves. Busily socializing through social media and rarely meeting or playing with friends in the real world," said Muhadi, who was met in Ngablak village, Srumbung district, Magelang regency, Central Java.

A gadget, which is connected to an online system with various features, is like a double-edged knife: it can be useful, but it can also bring harm.

Gadget addiction on children is in a very alarming condition. Not only in big cities, but also on children in small towns.

Through the library, Muhadi tries to make changes. A lot of reading, a lot of activities, would have been much better than spending time on gadgets in their hands.

Young people, including children, are expected to increase their skills and knowledge by practicing and reading books, and not merely relying on information from the internet accessed through the gadgets.

Muhadi, 65, wants the Bhakti Youth Library in his village to come alive and become the center of various activities.

"I want this library to be an activity center, a learning center for villagers to learn anything," he said.

He has also held angklung (traditional music instrument), geguritan, and pranatacara practices starting in 2000. Geguritan is a Javanese poem, while the pranatacara is an exercise on how to be a Javanese master of ceremony.

Occasionally, Muhadi collaborates with Karang Taruna leaders to hold discussions, jointly watch educational films in the Bhakti Youth Library. He has also made the library an arena for various competitions, starting form speeches to drawing on every August 17 (independence) celebration.

Not just being the initiator and planner, Muhadi has been directly involved in the field. He, for example, becomes a single teacher in angklung, geguritan, and pranatacara exercises.

With such a series of activities, citizens, especially young people and children, can learn more about social values and social norms. Muhadi wants to invite young people to learn again about the importance of meeting, socializing, and cooperating with others in the real world.

"By increasing activities in the village, I hope citizens, especially children, can reduce the use of gadgets. They should know that the most important thing is to maintain relationships with others in the real world, and not vice versa, only existing in the virtual world," he said.

Making the library

Muhadi is an educator, an elementary teacher with more than 35 years of teaching experience. His experience for several times to get awards as an exemplary teacher and being for twice the masterhead of the school makes him to have the passion to educate anytime and anywhere, including in the neighborhood.

In 2000, with the spirit of sharing knowledge and educating the community, Muhadi who at that time served as the organizer of the Youth Organization of Ngablak Village took the initiative to make the library as a business unit in Karang Taruna activities. For this reason, he used a room measuring 4 x 6 meter in the Karang Taruna building.

Starting from the intention that other citizens could participate in reading and gaining knowledge from the collection of books and magazines, Muhadi, at that time, allowed about 100 of his books and magazines to be used as the first collection of libraries. Unexpectedly, the establishment of this library was responded well. Many people every day come and read books that are rented for free there.

The enthusiasm to read and the joy of the community for owning a library were disrupted by two eruptions of Mount Merapi, which occurred in 2006 and 2010. The massive eruption in 2010 which caused tremendous damage to all buildings eventually made the library only able to occupy a room measuring 2 x 5 meters in the Karang Taruna building.

This condition happened for six years. However, due to the people\'s love for the community, finally, with the support of village funds, the Muda Bhakti Library was rebuilt and has now become a magnificent two-storey building.

With various innovations in his activities, Muhadi also tries to make this library be always busily visited. As a result, at present, on weekdays, the number of people who come to the library reaches 15-20 people per day, or 40-50 visitors per day on weekends. The number of library members who last year was only 200 people, this year became 389 people.

Salak Pustaka

Not just initiating building space or buildings, Muhadi also continues to intensely strive to keep the public\'s love of the library and reading culture. This, among others, is realized by taking the initiative to make the Salak Pustaka program.

In this program, each zalacca fruit farmer is asked to explain the sale proceeds from the harvests of one of their zalacca fruit trees for library purposes. In one harvest, one zalacca fruit tree can produce 1-3 kilograms of zalacca fruits.

Zalacca fruit prices vary, where at a low position are only Rp 3,000 to Rp 4,000 per kilogram and at a high price position can reach Rp 6,000 to Rp 9,000 per kg. All proceeds were donated to all the needs and operational costs of the Muda Bhakti Library.

Efforts to "ask" the sincerity of farmers are not easy. However, this acvitity was responded well. Of the 770 zalacca fruit farmers in Ngablak village, 93 have agreed and signed a memorandum of understanding, declaring their commitment to be involved in the Salak Pustaka program. Not only one tree, a part of the farmers and even several others are eager to contribute harvests from three to four trees.

Since initiating this program last February, the Muda Bhakti Library has now received Rp 1,093,500 from the Salak Pustaka program. A part of the money has been used to add to the book collection. The success encourages the Ngablak Village Administration in the near future to plan to include the Salak Pustaka program in the village regulations.

Muhadi’s efforts to strengthen the function of the library as a center of activities and knowledge being carried out are expected to become a way to strengthen the culture of literacy and socializing culture among the villagers, especially the younger generation.

Muhadi

Wife: Siti Fanah

Children:

- Aan Kurniawan, 41

- Indah Susanti, 39

- Arifianto, 36

Profession:

- Chairman of Ngablak Village Representative Agency (BPD)

- Advisor of Ngablak Muda Bhakti Library

Awards:

- First Champion of Aksara Award of the Learning Facility Competion Complementary to Package A of National Level Booklet Type from the Education and Culture Ministry (1992)

- Second Champion in Article Competition for Taxation Writing for Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Elementary School Teachers from the Ministry of Finance (1990)

Editor: