The street children creativity program is a form of effort in saving street children from the educational crisis they experience. Teaching street children through the method of making toys is expected to bind their attention to learn and create from what they learn.
That is what was done by the Faculty of Engineering community service team led by a lecturer at the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Faculty of Engineering, Badrul Munir, Ph.D., in collaboration with the Technique Informal School, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia (TIS FEng). They provided online and offline teaching to 70 out-of-school children in kindergarten, elementary, and junior high school in Karang Pola, Pasar Minggu.
This program is named Telusur Bestari: UI Engineering Student Teaching Program for Informal Schools, and involved 18 new Faculty of Engineering students from the class of 2021 from various study programs. Since 2013, TIS Faculty of Engineering began a transformation to educate and teach street children by opening a learning shelter in Kampung Pemulung in the Karang Pola area, Pasar Minggu. TIS Faculty of Engineering not only teaches school subjects but also teaches engineering science in the form of application to some toys or simple tools that can be easily made by children.
TIS Faculty of Engineering is a semi-autonomous body (BSO) of Faculty of Engineering which is engaged in social education. TIS’s main programs include providing reading parks and creativity programs for street children. Taman baca TIS in Pondok Cina, Depok is an open library for reading and borrowing books for everyone from kindergarten children to adults.
“We see that the implementation of teaching and learning activities during the pandemic has many obstacles, especially in low-level formal education, namely Kindergarten and Elementary Schools which require a lot of physical interaction but are difficult to obtain with virtual classroom methods. With the delay in the learning process, there is the potential for permanent dropout problems that can occur for students who are still in school. Our community service activities are dedicated to providing equal education to children who have not yet received the right to education,” said Syaniar Tiara (Industrial Engineering 2020) who is the Action Coordinator.
The Karang Pola area was chosen as a community service location because it is one of the operational areas of the TIS Faculty of Engineering informal school which has carried out various activities in the social field to support various children’s education in the area. This community service activity is supported by the Directorate of Community Service and Empowerment of the Universitas Indonesia and is a form of concern and concrete action of the role of students as agents of change.
“The AKSIOMA 2021 activity begins with online teaching on October 30, 2021 and continues with live activities at the location in the following weeks. In offline teaching, the activity begins with group gymnastics which is assessed and prizes are given to the students who are the most enthusiastic. Then proceed with the learning process of several subjects, including Mathematics, Science, Indonesian, and English. In addition to online activities, the AKSIOMA Program also provides donations in the form of facilities, bookshelves, learning module books and operational funds channeled through TIS,” said Muhammad Daffa (Mechanical Engineering 2020) who is the Field Coordinator.
Badrul Munir, Ph.D., a supervisor who also serves as Director of Student Affairs at UI said, “We hope that all students can make the slightest changes to help younger siblings who are hampered in carrying out and getting their education rights. This change is also a motivation and encouragement for youngers and friends out there who are still in school so that they don’t give up and stay motivated in achieving their goals.”
