Railway community preschoolers learn to read
Jakarta » Learning to read is a basic right that should be enjoyed by everyone. Yet it’s not so for children living by the railway tracks of Jakarta.
Their parents sell vegetables, collect recyclables and do other odd jobs to earn a few dollars a day – enough to survive, but not for pencils, books or school uniforms. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t love for their children to become good readers.
The Fresh Start ‘portable classroom’ in Tambora, West Jakarta was born out of YPP’s desire to provide the basic right to read to such children.
In Fresh Start, railway kids are taught first how to hold a pencil, then to recognize letters and syllables, then words and sentences until they are finally able to read. YPP teachers use a special curriculum designed to stimulate a love of reading in young children.
Study is not always the primary activity. Teachers and children sing together, draw, play and do creative projects. Interspersed between other activities, YPP workers teach character values to encourage positive behaviour.
YPP’s dream, which we strive to realize, is a better future for these children.
Other Fresh Start initiatives:
School in the park for Riau street kids.