Successfully creating a reading space for children in Belung Village, students of FISIP-FCS Bakti Desa (FBD) Jantra 05 Universitas Brawijaya (UB) received praise from the local community. The community in the village now has a new space for learning with new facilities and infrastructure in the form of a small library called Pustaka Surau Kecil Merdeka.
The village library was officially opened on Wednesday (7/19/2024). The small library in the village is one of the work programs of KKN FBD JANTRA 05 UB students as an implementation of the fourth SDGs point, namely quality education.
This surau (small prayer hall) library was built with the hope that the village community will have a more adequate reading corner. This work program is also collaborated with the local youth organization so that the manufacturing process is also carried out together.
The Surau Kecil Merdeka Library is located in the northern part of Belung Village, behind one of the village mosques. At first, the place that is currently used was a small prayer hall which was then renovated in such a way and equipped with various facilities such as reading tables, bookshelves, and sitting cushions.
The collection of books presented is quite diverse ranging from children’s books, textbooks, novels, poetry books, to reference books. The books presented are sourced from several publishers such as Intrans Publishing, UMM Press, UB Press, and Aruzz Media which is the network of one of the people in charge of this work program.
The library was officially opened through a soft launching attended by the head of the local neighborhood (RT), representatives of the local youth organization, all FBD JANTRA 05 students, and children of Belung Village, especially North Belung.
The event began with remarks from the head of the neighborhood and continued with a ribbon cutting by the head of the neighborhood and representatives of the youth organization. In his remarks, the head of the neighborhood expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the initiative to establish Pustaka Surau Kecil Merdeka.
“Thank you to the students from UB who have given this valuable memento to the younger kids here. Hopefully in the future they can study and read books here often. Hopefully this will also be considered as a charity for all of you, to make your studies easier,” he said.
Theofillia Jacqueline Zefanya, as the person in charge of the Pustaka Surau Kecil Merdeka work program, also expressed her hope that this library could become a learning center for the community.
Representatives from the local youth organization also expressed similar sentiments and hoped that the children in Belung Village could really utilize the library as a place for reading, learning, group work, and other useful things. Cutting the ribbon marked the official opening of the surau library in Belung Village.
The opening of this library was enthusiastically welcomed by the community.
“The opening of Pustaka Surau by FBD Jantra 05 students has finally become a book reading facility for children around North Belung. The enthusiasm and interest of the children is quite high here. With this Surau Library, the people of Belung Village, especially North Belung, are proof that reading or learning can be done anywhere,” said Sudarman as the Head of Belung Village.
The children in the village seemed very happy with the presence of new books in the place. The presence of the Surau Kecil Merdeka Library is expected to increase people’s interest in reading, especially children and teenagers in Belung Village.
The library is also expected to continue to be managed and used as a place to learn, discuss, and develop creativity. By doing so, the people of Belung Village are expected to be more open-minded, have a better quality of life, and be able to face the challenges of an increasingly advanced era. [jantra05/dts/PR FCS]
