Children's Stories

Sophia Library : Our New Playstation

Previously, reading was a tedious activity. That's because the only books available were textbooks. In fact, often secondhand textbooks handed down by elders. Usually this reading was required by a teacher for a school assignment. "Reading used to be something I was forced to do." Ucok said, "Now reading is pleasant since we can access so many books with Project Sophia." Dita, Ucok’s friends also says, "Now, if  I am not reading a book, I feel so bored " They are some of the many children who now diligently visit Sophia Library. Another child,  Meylani, said "So far we only know about reading textbooks, but here I can find comic books and other books which also teach me things. So it is not boring. I've borrowed 10 times here.

The availability of various types of reading at the Sophia Library means ​​the kids do not get bored. They come every day to play and learn. In a single month it was recorded that 100 books were borrowed by more than 50 children. Since they have been allowed to borrow the books in the Library of Sophia, dozens of children come to the library every day. The children come from 5 villages, the farthest distance 15 km. They come from different schools, elementary, middle, high school, even college. Every day, after school, around 14.00 - 18.00, Sophia Library fills with uniformed school children. They come to read, borrow or return the books. Some of them are the children who have dropped out of school.  The books borrowed are mostly comics, children's story and adventure books.

Ivan is often scolded by his mother because every day he asks for money for a playstation and once he even stole money. In the library, he does not need money to have his own journey in another world. The excitement of these children grows because they can also meet a lot of friends new friends at the library from different schools. Dita says "Here is our new playstation!" Dita laughs as she continues, explaining, "When I read books, I can meet ghosts, monsters, dwarfs, giants, and heroes." Vita agreed with Dita, and said "You can also meet princesses and princes." Others simultaneously name figures they have encountered in books, “Witches, magic cats, poisonous snakes, animals that can talk, dinosaurs!”

Sophia  Library is now a "playstation". Books become a room and offer creative ways to develop a sense of self, adventure, and a way to imagine a world with a better, peaceful future. 

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Perpustakaan  Sophia : Playstation Baru Kami

Sebelumnya, membaca adalah kegiatan yang  sangat membosankan. Itu karena selama ini buku yang selama ini bisa dibaca adalah buku teks. Bahkan, seringkali buku bekas yang diwariskan oleh kakak-kakak senior mereka. Bukan hanya karena buku-buku lama, tetapi juga karena seringkali mereka membaca karena ditugaskan oleh guru untuk menjawab tugas sekolah. "Terpaksa sih kak” Ucok kemudian melanjutkan "Tapi itu dulu, sekarang membaca sangat menyenangkan sejak kami dapat mengakses begitu banyak buku di Proyek Sophia" Dita, teman Ucok juga mengatakan: "Sekarang, jika saya tidak membaca buku, saya merasa sangat bosan" Mereka adalah salah satu dari banyak anak yang kini rajin mengunjungi Perpustakaan Sophia setiap hari. Meylani salah satu dari anak-anak mengatakan "selama ini kami hanya tahu membaca buku pelajaran, tapi disini saya dapat menemukan buku-buku komik dan isinya pelajaran, jadi tidak membosankan. Saya sudah pinjam buku 10 kali di sini”.

Ketersediaan berbagai jenis buku di Perpustakaan Sophia membuat anak-anak tidak bosan datang setiap hari untuk bermain dan belajar atau meminjam buku. Dalam setiap bulan tercatat 100 buku yang dipinjam oleh lebih dari 50 anak. Sejak diizinkan untuk meminjam buku-buku di Perpustakaan Sophia, puluhan anak-anak datang ke perpustakaan setiap hari Sophia Anak-anak berasal dari 5 desa, jarak terjauh 15 km. Setiap hari, sepulang sekolah, sekitar pukul 14.00-18.00,  Perpustakaan Sophia diisi dengan anak-anak berseragam sekolah. Beberapa dari mereka adalah anak-anak yang putus sekolah.   Mereka berasal dari berbagai sekolah, SD, SMP, SMU, guru-guru bahkan dari perguruan tinggi. Buku-buku yang banyak dipinjam anak-anak adalah komik, cerita anak-anak dan buku-buku petualangan.

Tidak ada hari tanpa mengunjungi Perpustakaan Sophia Playstation ditinggalkan. "Mahal kalau main playstation. Saya juga tidak bisa punya banyak teman kalau hanya bermain playstation” " jelas Ivan. Ivan  sering dimarahi oleh ibunya karena setiap hari meminta uang dan bahkan mencuri untuk bermain game di playstation. Di perpustakaan, ia tidak perlu uang untuk memiliki perjalanan sendiri di seluruh dunia.

Meskipun hanya tiga kali seminggu dijadwalkan untuk meminjam buku, tetapi mereka dapat bertemu dengan banyak teman-teman dari sekolah yang berbeda. Beberapa kali mereka sengaja hanya datang untuk membaca di perpustakaan untuk bertemu teman baru. Dita mengatakan "Di sini playstation baru kami" Dita melanjutkan  sambil tertawa "ketika saya membaca buku, saya bisa bertemu dengan hantu, monster, kurcaci, raksasa, pahlawan dan banyak lainnya"  Vita setuju dengan Dita, dan berkata "juga bertemu putri dan pangeran" Anak-anak lainnya penuh semangat menyambung diskusi kecil itu dengan menceritakan siapa saja yang mereka temui di dalam buku. Penyihir, kucing ajaib, ular berbisa, hewan yang bisa bicara, dinosaurus, bintang, astronot, planet lain, dan sebagainya. Perpustakaan Sophia sekarang menjadi "playstation" baru. Buku menjadi cara yang lebih kreatif untuk mengembangkan diri anak-anak, petualangan, melihat dunia untuk masa depan yang lebih baik dan damai. 

Windi

Making Friends Out Of Books

Windi (14 years old)

I know those local kids because we gather here (in Project Sophia). The older children in Project Sophia told me that my friends and I could come here and read as many books as we wish here. We walk to get here. The distance from home is about two kilometers. But that’s no matter to me because there are many books; besides I got bored waiting for the next Project Sophia trip to our village. I was told that Project Sophia is still visiting other villages so they haven’t been able to make it to our village yet. That’s why I walked here because Project Sophia is visiting. I like it here. I can read books, I can make friends. I used to make friends with IDPs children since I am an IDP myself. The same happens at school. We were not confident enough to make friends with non-IDPs children because they look smart. Well, in here all books are for all children. In here we can all play together.    

Mom used to tell me that I should not play with those other children because they would mock us and say that we were only IDPs children. Even though we go to the same school, we are still different. We were used to be afraid to cross over the other IDPs sites because the children are naughty. (I) Was also scared to go to Kajuawu when Project Sophia was visiting there, since it is named as the Texas of IDPs. But we were picked up and were asked to play together with them and with the books so that we got used to them. Well, still a bit afraid, but not as much as we were used to be. With local kids here, we make friends with them already. We are fellow kids in Project Sophia. As we are told, that’s what we are: a team.   

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Berteman, Bertemu karena Buku

Windi (14 tahun)

Saya kenal teman-teman warga lokal karena datang disini (Project Sophia). Kakak-kakak di Project Sophia yang bilang sama saya dan teman-teman kalau kami bisa baca buku sesukanya disini. Kami datang jalan kaki kemari. Jaraknya sekitar 2 km dari rumah saya. Tapi kami mau kemari karena katanya ada banyak buku yang bisa dibaca, dan kami sudah bosan tunggu kapan lagi Project Sophia datang ke kampung kami. Katanya Project Sophia sekarang sedang kunjungi desa-desa lain jadi belum bisa datang kemari, karena itu kami jalan kaki kemari. Senang rasanya karena disini bukan hanya buku yang kami dapat tapi juga teman. Selama ini kami anak-anak pengungsi hanya punya teman sesama anak pengungsi, di sekolah juga begitu. Soalnya kami tidak percaya diri dengan anak-anak lokal disini, dorang pintar-pintar. Tapi kalau disini, semua buku untuk semua tidak beda-bedakan, dan kami bisa bermain sama-sama.

Dulu mama pernah sempat larang saya main-main sama anak-anak lain, soalnya kadang-kadang juga dibilangin “kamu kan cuma anak pengungsi” . Dulu biar satu sekolah tapi bermain beda-beda. Dulu kami takut menyebrang di wilayah pengungsian yang lain, soalnya disana terkenal anak-anaknya nakal. Sempat takut waktu ada Project Sophia di Kajuawu, soalnya orang bilang itu wilayah Texas-nya pengungsi. Tapi karena kami dijemput dan diajak bermain dengan buku, lama-lama terbiasa. Masih takut tapi sudah berkurang. Dengan teman-teman lokal, sekarang kami sudah tidak ragu lagi berteman. Soalnya sudah saling tahu kalau kami anak-anak Project Sophia. Kakak-kakak sering bilang kami ini Team, jadi sama-sama.

Nanda

To Read Is To Fly Around the World 

Nanda (12 years old)

I know more when I read more. Reading books makes me feel like flying around the world. I know that there are pyramids in Egypt where dead bodies are preserved. There are gods and goddess in Greece. There are Maya people, a very ancient tribe with their own mysteries, so the book said. Sometimes I think that America must be very near. It feels like it when I read about it. There are so many famous places where many people visit. Who knows, I might go there someday.

I used to think that if I was able to go to Palu (Central Sulawesi capital) that was the most matter. That how lucky I was if I could go there. Then, I read those books. Then I want to go further from Sulawesi, to Jakarta, because Monas is there, also to where the snow is, like Europe or America. In Paris they have Eiffel, in Rome the Pisa tower. Then there are more seasons in this world. In Tentena there are only the rainy and dry seasons, out there is fall, summer, winter and spring. I found that there are so many species of trees and vegetation in each country. I know now that people in Europe and America eat wheat, while here we eat rice. If reading books about other countries we can imagine visiting them, one day I should actually go there, shan’t I?      

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Buku bikin saya terbang ke seluruh dunia

Nanda (12 Tahun)

Baca buku bikin saya tahu banyak. Saya seperti terbang ke seluruh dunia. Saya tahu kalau di Mesir itu banyak piramida, dulu tempat pengawetan mayat. Di Yunani itu ada banyak dewa-dewi. Ada suku Maya, suku kuno sekali yang kata buku yang saya baca itu banyak misterinya. Kadang-kadang saya pikir Amerika itu dekat, kalau baca buku rasanya seperti dekat. Banyak tempat-tempat terkenal yang dikunjungi orang. Siapa tahu saya bisa berkunjung kesana juga toh? 

Dulu saya pikir yang penting bisa lihat Palu (ibu kota Propinsi Sulawesi Tengah) sudah untung. Sekarang rasanya maunya bisa kunjungi di luar Sulawesi, kalau bisa ke Jakarta (soalnya di Jakarta saya nonton ada Monas), tapi mau lihat salju juga jadi harus ke Eropa atau Amerika toh? Di Paris ada Menara Eifel, kalau di Roma ada Menara miring Pisa. Ada macam-macam musim di dunia. Kalau di Tentena hanya ada musim hujan dan panas, di negara lain ada musim gugur, musim panas, musim dingin, musim semi. Jenis pohon dan tanaman juga jadinya berbeda di masing-masing negara. Saya tahu sekarang kalau di Eropa, Amerika mereka lebih banyak makan gandum, kalau kita kan beras. Kalau baca buku negara-negara banyak yang kita kunjungi. Siapa tahu nanti bisa kunjungi negara-negara itu kan?

Ucok

Reading is like Magic Bag

Ucok (10 Years Old)

My mom says I’m smart. She says that because I no longer request money from my mom everyday to play Playstation. I told my mother that I have a new place to play everyday and a lot of friends, so now my parents know where I am when they can’t find me. My parents are busy every day looking for work, so after school I used to go and play Playstation, but not anymore because now I can come to the Sophia Library instead. Not only do I have a lot of friends here, there are a lot of books too, and we have  a race to see who can read more. So I am here every day now.

My mom says if I continue like this, we could save money. So now my mom encourages me to go read at this library. My mom never asks me to bring books home, but instead she has started coming to the library too because she saw there are books for parents. Didn’t you see her come before?

I used to not like reading. I like to watch TV because the picture moves. Also if I watch TV I don’t have to think, he he. If there are no parents around we all watch TV. So I really like to read here because there are a lot of picture and comic books that are good to read. There are a lot of Doraemon books.

I already know why Doraemon has a magic bag. Because Nobita is always watching TV and is lazy to read, and the magic bag helps him to have many friends. I like reading now. If I can read this story to a friend we could write new stories. In December we have an assignment to make a short drama in school. Nobita will have changed, he will like to read and will not need the magic bag. We will make up that Doraemon has a magic book in his pocket. So if you read it is like a magic bag. 

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Membaca itu Seperti Kantong Ajaib

Ucok (10 Tahun)

“Mama bilang saya sudah pintar. Saya pintar karena tidak habiskan uang mama atau minta uang setiap hari ke mama untuk main playstation. Saya bilang sama mama karena saya sudah punya tempat bermain dan banyak teman, jadi biarpun mama tidak perhatikan saya, saya sudah tahu tempat saya bermain. Mama dengan papa sibuk setiap hari cari kerja, jadi sepulang sekolah saya biasanya akan minta uang untuk main playstation. Sekarang tidak lagi, saya sudah bisa datang kemari (ke perpustakaan Sophia-red). Bukan hanya banyak teman tapi disini banyak buku. Kami lomba membaca siapa yang lebih banyak, jadi saya tiap hari disini.

Mama bilang kalau begini terus, kami bisa menabung. Jadi  kalau saya tidak datang kemari mama yang akan tanya dan suruh saya kemari. Mama pernah minta bawakan  buku juga ke rumah, mau dipinjam tapi saya bilang mama datang ke perpustakaan saja karena ada juga buku untuk orang tua. Kakak lihat kemarin mamaku datang juga kan? 
Dulu saya tidak suka membaca, menonton lebih bagus karena gambarnya bergerak. Kalau menonton juga tidak usah berpikir he he, enak. semua teman-temanku juga menonton kalau tidak ada orang tua. Saya suka membaca disini karena banyak gambar-gambarnya. Enak membacanya. Apalagi banyak Doraemon.  

Saya tahu kak, mengapa Doraemon punya kantong ajaib. Karena  Nobita terlalu banyak menonton  dan malas membaca. Kantong ajaib itu bantu Nobita supaya bisa punya punya teman. Saya suka baca sekarang. Kalau baca bisa cerita ke teman dan bisa mengarang cerita baru  biarpun tidak sesuai dengan bukunya he he. Bulan Desember kami punya tugas bikin drama singkat di sekolah. Nobita kami ubah, dia jadi suka membaca, saya yang perankan, dan dia tidak perlu kantong ajaib. Kami mengarang kantong ajaib Doraemon itu buku. Jadi kalau membaca itu kantong ajaib”

Olin

All The Answer is in the Sophia Library

Olin (12 Years Old)

"I am very pleased because now do not need to shell out money. I do not need to ask my mother to buy a book or a copy of a textbook. Mama is also happy because with the money for a book, we  can instead buy vegetables and fish. Mom and Dad are just farmers, so I feel sorry if every week I ask them for money for books. I have been absent from school a week which is a shame. I'm embarrassed because we do not have the money to pay for the photocopy which is Rp. 2500 (30 cents). My parents have not harvested yet.

Now I am very happy, if there is homework or questions from the teacher, I know I just need to come here (Library Sophia). Yesterday there was an assignment from the teacher about microscopes. My friends looked for the answer on the internet. I do not have money to go to the internet cafe, and I also do not know how to use the internet. But I know I do not have to worry anymore because I already have a place to answer all my questions. Yesterday I found a book in the series “Why”, which had details about the microscope. There is a  detailed section on the microscope, it’s inventors, and their role. My friends who searched the internet had an incomplete explanation. My explanation was the most complete. So I know I do not need the internet or money, just books.

Now other friends also been hoping to come here and find the answers in books. Do you know Dessy, Anna, Iping, Ayu? They are my friends from school who have come here now. I told them the secret why I can answer the question from teacher perfectly. Other friends whose houses are far away are coming here. Here we know so much. There are books.

Not only that, I also met with children from other schools. I have many friends. Before we joined together, we always kept ourselves separate between schools. I am in a private school, which is seen as usually inferior than public school kids because they have more facilities. Now we were all together, gathering here like friends, finding books together.

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Semua Jawaban ada di Perpustakaan Sophia

Olin (12 tahun) 

“Saya sangat senang, sekarang tidak perlu keluar uang. Sekarang, tidak perlu lagi minta mama belikan buku atau fotocopy buku pelajaran. Mama juga senang karena uang untuk fotocopy buku bisa untuk beli sayur dan ikan. Mama dan papa kan cuma petani, jadi saya kasihan kalau setiap minggu minta uang beli buku atau fotocopy buku. Saya pernah tidak masuk sekolah satu minggu, malu. Saya malu karena sudah satu bulan kami tidak punya uang untuk bayar uang fotocopy 2500, waktu itu mama dan papa belum panen. 

Sekarang saya sangat senang, kalau ada pekerjaan rumah atau pertanyaan dari guru, saya tahu saya hanya perlu datang di sini (Perpustakaan Sophia). Kemarin ada tugas dari guru soal mikroskop, teman-temanku mencari jawabanya di internet. Saya tidak punya uang untuk pergi ke warnet, saya juga belum tahu bagaimana cara pakai internet. Tapi saya tahu saya tidak perlu kuatir lagi karena saya sudah punya tempat untuk menjawab semuanya. Saya kemarin ketemu buku di Seri Why, yang jelaskan detail tentang mikroskop. Ada bagian-bagian detailnya tentang mikroskop, penemu dan kegunaanya. Teman-teman yang cari di internet malah tidak lengkap penjelasannya.Saya yang paling lengkap. Jadi saya tahu, tidak perlu internet, tidak perlu uang, cuma buku saja. Disini.

Sekarang teman-teman lain juga sudah berlomba-lomba untuk datang ke sini dan cari jawaban disini. Kakak kenal Dessy, Anna,Iping, Ayu? nah itu teman-teman sekolahku yang akhirnya sekarang datang disini. Saya yang beritahu mereka. Teman-teman yang lain yang rumahnya jauh sebenarnya mau juga datang kemari. Disini kami jadi lebih tahu. Ada buku.

Bukan cuma itu, disini saya jadi ketemu juga dengan anak-anak dari sekolah lain. Temanku jadi banyak. Dulu antar sekolah selalu jaga gengsi. Saya sekolah di swasta jadi biasanya minder sama anak-anak sekolah negeri karena mereka fasilitasnya lebih banyak.Sekarang kami semua sudah sama-sama, kumpul disini.Berteman. Cari buku sama-sama!