KITA Institute Holds Children's Literacy Program, 'Rumah Baca KITA' to Prevent Child Trafficking

Since 2018, KITA Institute has been carrying out Child Literacy projects to introduce children to and warn them of the dangers of human trafficking from an early age. This activity is not meant to scare them; on the contrary, it provides information to children about the dangers of human trafficking and makes them aware, and reminds them to always be alert to persuasion and false promises that lead to human trafficking schemes. The literacy program is centred in Jengkol village, Wonosobo Regency, Central Java. KITA Intitute menginisiasi kegiatan Literasi Anak dengan maksud agar anak-anak sedari dini sudah diperkenalkan dengan bahaya perdagangan orang.  Kegiatan ini sebenarnya tidak bermaksud menakut-nakuti mereka. Malah sebaliknya memberikan informasi kepada anak-anak terhadap bahaya perdagangan orang dan menyadarkan mereka agar selalu waspada terdahap bujukan dan rayuan yang mengarah kepada tindak perdangan orang. Program literasi dipusatkan di desa Jengkol, Kabupatan Wonosobo, Jawa Tengah.

The children were given various books on folklore and local wisdom to read, including books about handcrafting. After reading the books, they would write short literature reviews and a summary, which would include the title, setting, flow and content of the book in question. This is to help them share the contents of the book with their friends. literature review dan rangkuman menyagkut judul, latar, alur dan isi buku dimaksud. Kegiatan lanjut adalah menceritakan isi buku itu kepada teman-teman mereka.

In addition to books on folk tales, the children were also given books on topics of national insight, diversity and tolerance. Topics such as reproductive health, introduction to the dangers of human trafficking, arts and simple surveys were also discussed during these activities. They were not confined to learn in a closed room (class). Instead, the children were accompanied in exploring their surroundings, in order to experience their natural social environment firsthand.

The children are also guided with programs for talent development, including singing, dancing, reading poetry. The combination of these activities is so that the children would have a sensitivity to the surrounding social environment, which would lead to a higher sense of self-awareness, which would subsequently increase their awareness about the dangers of human (child) trafficking.

Now many alumni from this child literacy activity have become more independent, and have broader insight; some have even become mentors for their younger siblings who have just joined the Rumah Baca KITA literacy program.