The Dhaka Times Desk An Indonesian librarian has taken an extraordinary initiative to get children interested in books. At the same time, he is raising awareness about the environment in a novel way.
Raden Roro Hendarti, a librarian from Indonesia, drives his tricycle every weekend to a village called Muntag. The children of the village came running to see him. They come to read books. They hand over the plastic they have collected to Raden, in return they get all the interesting books. When Raden, the librarian, returns home with a three-wheeler, his mind is full of encouraging children to read books and at the same time he feels the joy of raising environmental awareness among them!
It is not only the children who benefit from the books from the mobile library in exchange for the plastic cups, bags etc. collected. This plastic is playing a major role in environmental pollution in Indonesia. Raden recycles the plastic he gets in exchange for books with the help of his colleagues, even reselling some of the materials.
The three-wheeler goes to the children through the mobile library and returns carrying around 100 kilograms of plastic each time. So the entrepreneurs named this three-wheeled vehicle 'Trash Library', that is, 'Library of Garbage'. Raden thinks more libraries are needed because, "If we're going to fight climate change and save the world, we're going to have to seriously reduce this kind of waste."
The children of Muntag village no longer have to talk about reading books or collecting plastic from home and handing it over to Raden Roro. They spend time collecting plastic on their own initiative, hoping to get new books on the weekend. Children of this village can be seen reading books together even after school holidays.
Raden Roro Hendarti has brought another change in the lives of village children. Many of the village children who used to be busy with video games or social media, now spend their time in the vicinity of these books. The village near the island of Java, where the internet-dependence of children around the world has increased during the corona crisis, is a very different picture.
Like many countries around the world, many schools in Indonesia are still virtually closed since the Corona crisis. According to a recent World Bank report, at least 80 percent of the country's children will not be able to study according to the minimum standards of the OECD. Raden Roro is reducing that fear to some extent with the initiative of teaching 6000 books to children in a three-wheeler.
Things to do to prevent Corona virus
# stay at home all the time.
# Follow the rules and use mask when going out for emergency.
# three-layer cloth mask can be washed if desired.
# wash clothes after coming home from outside. Or hang it without shaking for at least four hours.
# Wash hands thoroughly (for at least 20 seconds) with soap or liquid before coming outside.
# plastic PPE or eyes, face, head must be washed thoroughly with detergent and dried after one use.
# Wear PPE made of cloth or clean as described.
# Use a head cap that completely covers the hair.
# Those who have sneeze cough should follow all the rules promulgated by the government. Also, wash hands as directed before and after handling food items, keys, switches, mice, remote controls, mobiles, watches, computer desks, TVs, etc. and after using the bathroom. Those who have dry hands use Moisture after washing their hands. Soap or hand liquid can be used. Why can this virus remain in the crackle (cracked part) of dry hands? Avoid using highly alkaline soaps or detergents.
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