Earning Social Rewards

KOMPAS/KHAERUL ANWAR

Abdul Quddus Ali

Abdul Quddus Ali, 43, is like a contractor because he is a farmer, a member of the Village Disaster Alert Team, and a literacy activist – all at the same time. He always spares time to make his rounds to remote hamlets with reading material for children, and has helped set up reading spaces in several settlements of Sembalun district, East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

“I’ve had the idea of opening reading spaces and being involved in literacy for a long time,” he said. In fact, reading spaces can become forums for learning, obtaining information and presenting problems that local communities and children experience in the frequent flash floods and landslides that hit their regions.

The resident of Lebak Lauq hamlet in Sembalun Lawang village, Sembalun district, 99 kilometers east of Mataram, said on Friday (20/3/2020) that floods and landslides occurred almost every year in the villages of Sembalun district, located at the foot of Mount Rinjani (3,726 meters above sea level). The largest flooding and landslide took place in 2006, inflicting material losses and claiming the lives of two villagers.

What I want to tell the local people is that humans and nature have a reciprocal relationship that should be maintained.

“What I want to tell the local people is that humans and nature have a reciprocal relationship that should be maintained,” said Quddus.

His aim was realized only on 25 Sept. 2014 after he founded the Sembalun Reading House in Barat Desa hamlet of Sembalun village with the assistance of Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore.

A number of groups and students from Yogyakarta and Solo who were engaged in field studies contributed reading material and taught the children how to read. Even tourists from Europe, Korea, Japan and Latin America visited the reading house to teach vocabulary through daily conversation.

KOMPAS/KHAERUL ANWAR

Abdul Quddus Ali.

The Sembalun Reading House has developed well, with more than 20 people, both children and adults, visiting every day. In 2017, Quddus opened Al Amanah Reading House. He bought a collection of book, writing textbooks, drawing books, colored pencils and pens with his own money that he made from the garlic and chili he cultivated on his 0.25-hectare farm.

The reading house has become an after-school hub of reading for early childhood education (PAUD) and elementary school (SD) children. The titles include folklore, legends, stories of the Prophet and the apostles and other religious tales.

He also takes them to open areas near the forest, a rice field, the hills or spring to observe the wildlife.

Apart from reading, Quddus also invites children to play football outside after reading. He also takes them to open areas near the forest, a rice field, the hills or spring to observe the wildlife. After such trips, the children write down and present their observations.

Dissatisfied with simply waiting for children to visit, Quddus turned his idea of a mobile library into reality. Using his own savings, he built aluminum boxes filled with books and attached them to the back of his motorcycle. He typically makes his rounds to nearby hamlets at 3-6 p.m., after he has finished working on his farm for the day.

KOMPAS/KHAERUL ANWAR

Abdul Quddus Ali

He looks for areas where children generally gather. The terrain around Mount Rinjani is mostly hilly, with steep roads that traverse ravines. For instance, the road to Batu Jong hamlet, Sajang village, Sembalun district, is 1.5 meters wide and lined with pese, a sand-and-cement mixture that mixes with mud during both the dry and rainy seasons, making it treacherous for vehicles.

“If plunging into the bottom of a ravine is to be avoided, especially in the raining season, one should be smart about passing the road to prevent the motorcycle tires from slipping,” said Quddus.

However, the rough terrain only boosts his motivation to get the reading materials to the children who are waiting for him to arrive. “Even before I park the motorcycle, the children crowd around the boxes to choose books,” he said.

He was regarded as a meatball or book vendor.

When he decided to be a literacy activist, Quddus had to overcome an inner conflict and intense self-doubt, as well as the scornful remarks from many people. He was regarded as a meatball or book vendor.

Such assumptions disappeared over time as Quddus’ efforts played a major role in founding reading spaces, including at two hamlets in Sajang village. His reading spaces are almost never empty of PAUD and SD children, who come by every day, and not just for reading books.

Quddus intends to continue his mission to promote literacy. “I still want to continue earning the greates possible ‘social reward’,” he added.

KOMPAS/KHAERUL ANWAR

Abdul Quddus Ali

Abdul Quddus Ali

Born: 12 April 1977, Sembalun Lawang village, East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara

Wife: Airisnawati, 37

Children: 3

Education:

- Tarbiyah Department, ‘NW’ Islamic Institute of Pancor, East Lombok, 2006

- MAN 1 Selong senior high school, East Lombok, 1996

- SMPN 4 Aikmel junior high school, East Lombok, 1993

- SDN 2 Sembalun elementary school, Lawang, 1990