Wiyata Bhakti : Sukapura, Probolinggo

 

Hello, everyone...

    As a student who, alhamdulillah, has received a scholarship, it is only right that I have a desire to contribute to the advancement of my country. Fortunately, I am a member of the Student Association of my study program (HMPS), which also has programs for community service. This year, the activity is held in the Sukapura sub-district, Probolinggo Regency.

    We departed using 2 elfs and 6 motorcycles. Yes, we definitely needed motorcycles for our needs there. And as you can see, our luggage is quite extensive, haha, well, it's understandable since we'll be there for about a week. There, we teach at the middle school (SMP) and elementary school (SD) levels. The locals are very enthusiastic because, as they say, they've never had university students on a community service program visit them or be in their area. This is a green light for us. Cold. That's what I feel every day.

    As seen in the photo, we lined up... at SMP Negeri 3 Sukapura. There is a morning tradition there where students greet the teachers, accompanied by what's called "tebakan" in Bahasa Indonesia, which means a guessing game or riddle. During these greetings, students are asked questions related to English, mathematics, and so on before entering the classroom.

    This is documentation with the 7th-grade students. FYI, the 7th grade is the class with the most students. There, my team and I teach English and general knowledge. It feels "exciting." Because they are very enthusiastic about our presence. I mean, maybe there are a few students who are not welcoming towards college students, but not with them. Everyone is very enthusiastic about our presence.

    Then, this is documentation with elementary school children. What grade are they in? I forgot. They are also adorable, and they are very happy with our presence. For elementary school children, we also teach English and general knowledge, but it's the basics like numbers and colors because, to be honest, they don't know much about that yet.

    In addition to the schools, we also opened another learning class called "Teras Belajar," and it's free of charge. It's only for elementary school and kindergarten children. The activities there include socializing and relaxed learning. After the activities, we have the Maghrib prayer and recite the Quran together with the younger kids there. As for me, I teach multiplication in mathematics, and then I ask them to express the results in English. If not, we play light games that use English later. The place is located on the mosque's terrace there.

    Every evening, we hold an evaluation session about what we taught them, and how they responded. Essentially, each team reports what they did that day. After the team evaluations, we gather with the teaching team to discuss what we will do tomorrow. Honestly, it's quite cold there. Some even bring blankets when we have relaxed discussions about tomorrow's teaching. Don't worry; the boys and girls have separate sleeping quarters, and they are quite far apart. After the evaluation, it's only the boys who return to their distant rooms, haha.

    Let me introduce my teaching team. There's Sister Achfina, wearing a black hijab and glasses. Then there's me, Ze. Next to me is Adel, wearing a brown hijab. And next to her is Sister Herlin, also wearing glasses and a brown hijab. As for the guys, below Sister Achfina, there's Brother Naufal, who, upon closer inspection, adds a touch of color to his hair. Next to him is Vico, right in the middle. Lastly, there's Brother Sunu, below Sister Herlin.

   On the last day, we organized an outbound activity together, I mean the middle school and elementary school kids participated together. Well, even though we separated the 1st and 2nd graders because it wouldn't work if we combined them, right? We had a lot of fun, and no one was allowed to cry. We played games, some involving balloons, flour, and rubber bands. Even the teachers joined in on one of the competitions :)

    Thank you to everyone who has given me new experiences. I'm just sharing my experience here. Hopefully, it can motivate all of you, amen. Feel free to share your experiences in the comment section as well.