Not all students have Android or internet packages to take part in online learning due to Covid-19. They were forced to have to hitchhike to study.
For example Diana. Residents of RT 02, RW 01, Kelurahan Kelapa Lima, Kota Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, need more money to buy an internet package so that their two children who are sitting in junior and senior high school can learn from home.
Every week, Diana claimed to have to buy a data package worth Rp75,000 for one child. While she is a housewife and her husband is only a motorcycle taxi driver whose income is uncertain in the middle of a pandemic.
To meet the needs of household and children's education, Diana must be smart to share money from motorcycle taxi from the husband.
The same conditions were felt by parents and dozens of children around the area. Some children were forced to ride WiFi at the home of Bripka Thomas Radiena, member of the Kupang City Police Propam.
"I was surprised when I got home from work, there were dozens of children sitting on the edge of my fence looking for WiFi to do school work," said Bripka Thomas, Sunday (2/8).
Out of concern, Bripka Thomas then discussed with his wife, Ratna Radiena who was also a priest and knew well about the difficulties of the children around their residence.
The couple then agreed to set up free WiFi for the children in their neighborhood. They allow school-age children to use WiFi at home.
But for order and not wrong use, children are only limited to using WiFi between 08.00 wita until 12.00 wita.
"We deliberately limit the hours of use of WiFi so that children use WiFi is only for learning activities," said Bripka Thomas.
For children who do not have an android, Bripka Tomas and Ratna prepare laptops and lend their own cellphones. "So the children can do their schoolwork well," he added.
Bripka Thomas and Ratna also require children who use WiFi at home to wear masks. They also distributed masks to children who did not have masks.
In addition to facilitation for washing hands, this couple lends a terrace, yard and library space for children to use while studying online.
The policy of setting up free WiFi is warmly welcomed by neighbors and residents around Bripka Thomas and Rev. Ratna.
"Thank you because we have been helped. We no longer need to think about the cost of buying an internet quota," said Siti Kadijah (35), one of the local residents.
Siti admitted, she was greatly helped because her children could go to school online and for free using WiFi at home Bripka Thomas and Rev Ratna.
Build a Reading House
Since 2018, utilizing a small room on the terrace of his house, Bripka Thomas also pioneered and built a reading house named "Batu Piak".
The reading house is not only for school-age children, but parents who work as fishermen also use the reading house to read.
"I saw a lot of children who dropped out of school so I and my wife agreed to open a reading house," he explained.
This graduate from the Law Faculty of Nusa Cendana University (Undana) Kupang admitted that with a reading house the children were very enthusiastic to read.
Batu Piak Reading House has a mission of arousing and increasing children's reading interest so as to create an intelligent society and always follow the development of science and technology.
In addition, it becomes a forum for community learning activities especially school-age children and eradicating illiteracy.
He added, the reading house that was built with his wife, aimed at fostering interest in reading in order to enrich the learning experience for residents, especially school-age children so they could avoid crime.
SOURCE: MERDEKA