Indonesia (MNN) ― An associate of Partners International opened a branch of libraries in Indonesia. These new libraries will help supplement formal education in South Sumatra by offering courses in conversational English and child scholarships. The camat, or sub-district leader, acknowledged the government's limited resources for funding of informal education and sees the role of this Partners associate as crucial.
"We give our greetings and full support to the opening of this library, and we hope you will also be able to open branches in the four surrounding villages," said the camat, in an opening speech with government officials and library staff present. He strongly encouraged influential members of the community and village leaders to frequent the library and tell others about its services.
"The community must make use of this library and spread the news about it to others."
One of the non-formal educational courses offered at the library is conversational English. Partners hosted a "Speak English Day" at the first meeting of a local Teacher's English Club. Four native speakers from America were brought in, and teachers were very grateful for the chance to practice their English skills with Americans.
"Developing skills in conversational English is a high priority for English teachers in Indonesia," said the library's director.
Child scholarships are another facet of the library's outreach. While tuition is free, many families are poor and unable to pay for school supplies and books. The library's scholarship program helps cover those costs.
"I am really thankful for the library scholarship program that helped pay for my schooling," says nine-year-old Dinda. In her village, it's uncommon for girls to attend school. Dinda is still uncertain about continuing her future studies. "I have a dream, but I'm not sure I can reach it."
Dinda's family is very poor. Her father is a fisherman with uncertain income, and her mother often searches for oysters in the river to support the family.
"I feel sorry to my parents working so hard every day," she said. "I want to make [them] proud of me. I do it by studying hard and being a successful student."
