Ronik Children’s Library and Learning Center

I read the article by Hollie Horrington about Ronik Children Library when I was doing web search, and would like to share with our readers. I had the permission from the author to publish it in our website, and here what she said on her blog :

QUOTE

Whilst in Kupang, I have been volunteering to help with the opening of a small library for children.

Ronik library was started by Nanik and her husband in the home of her late parents in Kupang, West Timor. Nanik and her sisters were brought up with a love of learning as their parents were both teachers for over 30 years. They have carried on their parents’ belief in the power of education and teaching and fulfilled their parents’ life-long dream: to one day open a library to help educate and instil a passion for learning in the children of Kupang. As Nanik says on the library’s website,

“In most cases, children in West Timor can only go to school if the money is available to cover their education. We will often see young children help their parents in the market selling produce instead of being at school studying [...] The Ronik Children’s Library and Learning Center is dedicated to nourishing the minds, intellects, characters and spirits of children by providing access to information and support for personal growth and development through lifelong learning in a safe and welcoming environment.”

I can happily say that I was there for the wonderful beginning of this library’s life. I made contact with Nanik who lives in America and she put me in touch with Enny, her sister who now lives in her parents’ house. I then began visiting the house regularly and helping out in any way I could – which meant covering the books they had received through donations in plastic.

I have always had a soft spot for libraries and bookshops, my first (and most all-time favourite) job I ever had was at a bookshop on the corner of my road that I had grown up visiting and I am a true believer in the magic of reading; of losing yourself in a fantasy world; of curling up in some cosy and friendly place and delving your head into some magical realm – reading really is such a privilege that many Western children take for granted. Everyone who knows me knows I loved working at the bookshop and so when I entered their house (the library was not ready at this point) I was more than over-excited with all the titles I could see (many of the books are in English – to promote language learning.) I spent the next few weeks popping to their house when I had a chance to help with covering (and borrowing!) books. Kieran and I hadn’t seen any English books at all since being here and were overjoyed at the plethora of fiction now available to us (there are also many adults titles and we devoured as many as we could.)

Whilst in East Timor, the library had its soft opening and when I returned my heart nearly burst with excitement. Here it was: the finished library. Denny had finished painting all the walls beautifully bright colours, and the shelves were all in place with English books on one side and Indonesian on the other. There were kids books of all ages, magazines, reference books, comics, a computer for the children to use with internet access, a whole shelf dedicated to artistic/creative things, a pile of toys and board-games and another whole bookshelf covered in VHS – mainly Disney – with a TV/Video/DVD player next to it. It looked amazing. I felt I could have lived and worked there my whole life. I returned now and again to help man the library (and watch 101 Dalmatians!)

Then Kieran and I came up with an idea that had been at the back of my mind for a while: a drama workshop. So I got to work planning and making posters, and the staff at TLM and Denny helped me to translate and make corresponding flyers in Indonesian. Come Sunday 26^th April, I was very nervous though I expected that the workshop may have a handful of kids at best. When I arrived no-one was there so I hung about and soon a whole neighbourhood’s worth of kids descended upon the dinky room and I couldn’t stop smiling. I was conducting my very own drama workshop! To about 25 kids! We started with warm-up games to get them to come out of their shy little shells – chewing gum to warm the face muscles, making funny noises and counting to ten to raise the energy to the roof. Then e played the traffic light game which went down really well and so the day went on with a series of fun games and small acting tasks: animal pairs where the kids got a slip from me with an animal on it and had to act as the animal whilst finding their partner animal somewhere in the room; what’s the time Mr. Wolf, a kind of Simon Says game, and a role-playing walk-around. It was fantastic. Eventually it sizzled out after an hour and a half as the kids got tired (I too was exhausted!) and I was truly proud. I gave out the sweets I had brought with me and said my goodbyes.

Ronik Library has just had its grand opening, and Kieran and I made it to the ceremony before our flight to Bali. It was lovely – the gardens the house are in are truly GORGEOUS and very artistic – all neat lawns, stepping stones, potted plants, trees. There was a massive congratulations sign and a ribbon to be cut by the Vice Mayor of Kupang. After, we wandered around the little room which now had its final touches, complete with a brand new computer from Nanik, and it saddened me to leave it behind. It really is an inspiration to everyone, especially the children who are eager to learn but perhaps unable to afford the best schooling. If I could describe what it’s like to see masses of children run inside after the opening and delving into the books, shouting at each other to look at this, read this; I would. There just aren’t words good enough. But I know it shaped me a little that day and made my heart warmer. We took lots of lovely pictures, and I will hold them dear forever.

I would like to send my heart-felt thanks to Nanik, and all her family (especially Enny and Denny) for letting me be a part of something so wonderful.

For all you readers out there: Please visit the website to have a little more insight into this amazing library: http://www.roniklibrary.org/

AND: If you have any books you do not need anymore, how about donating them to the library? I know shipping can be a bit pricey, but apparently there are ‘agents’ or such which specialise in shipping books and it is significantly cheaper. The address is on the website, along with any contact information. Go on!

So…. that’s it from West Timor. It’s been lovely here and though I am ready to move on, here are a few things I am going to miss:

• The view from the hill (every morning on the way to work we had a spectacular view of the sea, the surrounding islands and mountains – stunning.)
• Avocado shakes (SO good – they are serves with a bit of chocolate sauce.)
• Nose rubbing (who said Inuits, or Eskimos as most people would say, were the only nose-rubbers? It is custom here to greet people by touching noses – cute!)
• Ronik Library: Of course!
• The butterflies: Everywhere and of all colours. I think some of the rarest are found in Indonesia.
• TLM: Some of the nicest people I have ever met. Thank you to all of them for making us so welcome.
• Little Gecko: The littlest Gecko I saved from my under my desk in TLM’s office and took home in a box. We fed him spiders and then he grew up and left home…
• Bemos: Bemos are the BEST form of transport (see earlier post)
• Christianity at its best: Religion (mainly strict Christianity peppered with Catholicism) is BIG here. Like, masssssssssive. People’s lives revolve almost solely around the church and though I think it’s a bit much – it surprisingly made for the nicest society ever. There is hardly any crime in Kupang, and everyone is very respectful, polite and friendly and I believe it has a lot to do with the heavy focus on church. The community feel is infectious and genuine.

So… the ‘working/living’ travels are over – now comes 2 and a half months of ‘travelling’ travels! Exciting! First stop… Bali.

UNQUOTE

During the preparation and grand opening of the library, there was a young woman from England who visited us  on a regular basis to help the Lantana team to laminate  books we received to keep them in good  condition. Her name is  Hollie Horrington.  She is shown below in the pink polo shirt, next to her husband, Kieran.

Hollie knew about us from our website. Since she would be visiting Kupang  for a few months, she emailed me a generous offer to volunteer for the library. I told her that the library is not yet opened, but we are preparing for the opening soon, and that she was more than welcome to help.

I connected her to my sister Enny and her husband Denny, and when she arrived in Kupang, she immediately contacted them.  She was there almost every time she had  free time from her other volunteer work, helping us covering the books with clear plastic.

When I arrived in Kupang in May, I had  a chance to meet her and was amazed by her enthusiasm and spirit of giving, spending her time covering books and leading a drama workshop with the children during the soft opening. It was very encouraging to see that a young person from a very far away country was willing to give her time to help us in the library. I knew then, that we will not be alone in this project to promote literacy among children in Kupang, and that there will always be people who are willing to be part of our effort.

On the day we had our grand opening, Hollie was to leave for Bali, yet she and her husband made time to attend the opening ceremony.  Children were very reluctant and sad to see her departure, and I could see Hollie’s sad face saying goodbye to them. Children were running behind their motorcycle as they left the library….bye Hollie….bye Hollie…bye Hollie …..the children said.

There is a time to meet, there is  a time to say farewell. Good bye Hollie, we cherish the time we had with you during your stay in Kupang. We ‘re very grateful to you and will never forget  you. We hope that you will come back again to see us, and hope you think about us from time to time, as we do you.

Thank you Hollie!

Nanik and the Teamof Ronik Children’s Library and Learning Center.  A non profit organization helping children and youth with literacy and after school activities.

After more than a year of preparation, the day has finally arrived.  As of March 24th of 2009, Ronik Children’s Library and Learning Center will be open to the public.

As of  the opening date we have more than 1000 children’s books,  in Bahasa Indonesia and English, with 3000 more books being held in Customs, Jakarta.

I personally would like to thank  all our friends and supporters who have donated their time, money, videos, and books to make this library possible.

A big thank you to PT Diginet in Kupang, West Timor,  for providing the library’s  internet installation.

Our special thanks also to the following people who are friends and supporters of Ronik Children’s Library and learning Center during the preparation until the opening date.

• Mr.  Charles Roberts of Wonder Books in Baltimore, Maryland
• Mrs. Kristi Greenfield,  Shoreline, Washington
• Mr. Handoko Ismandar, Jakarta, Indonesia
• Mr. Robert Mandagie, Jakarta, Indonesia
• Mrs. Paige Fortner, Everett, Washington
• Mrs. Retno Dunn, Everett, Washington
• Ms. Ista Mencavage, Bothell, Washington
• My best friend Joan Gracia, Jakarta, Indonesia
• Dr. Haerani Ismandar, Stillwater, Oklahoma
• Enny, Denny, and the crew who prepared the library at Jl. Lantana

And for all the others who have contributed, thank you for your support.

Together we can make a difference.

Nanik Wardani Trickey - Founder

Ronik Children’s Library and Learning Center operates under The Ronik Foundation is a unique non profit organization, providing free library service, educational courses and character building to children in Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia.

The Ronik Children’s Library and Learning Center is dedicated to nourishing the minds, intellects, characters and spirits of children by providing access to information and support for personal growth and development through lifelong learning in a safe and welcoming environment.

In most cases, children in West Timor can only go to school if the money is available to cover their education. We will often see young children help their parents in the market selling produce instead of being at school studying.

With this in mind, and seeing how lucky the children in some other parts of the world who can go to school and read books for free,  I decided to open a children’s library and learning center. I would love to see children come and spend their time reading, learning,and have access to the knowledge and the multicultural riches of the world.

The purpose is to give children the opportunity to the early childhood literacy, to build passion, enjoyment, and excitement, as well as establishing the habit of reading, at a very early age, so that they will become regular readers and library visitors in future years.

As a start, I am going to use part of my parent’s house as the library, while looking for land for future expansion.

The  opening for the library is March 24, 2009

If you are visiting Indonesia and/or Kupang you are welcome to visit our facility which is located at :

Jl. Lantana No 7, Kupang 85118, West Timor, Indonesia, Phone ++62-380-822194

If you want to volunteer please contact Enny or Denny to arrange the schedule. We need volunteers for teaching English,  reading books t0 young children, helping with homework,  tutoring, teaching computer technology, special programs and events, and much more.

Thank you and God Bless

Nanik Trickey/Founder

Tags: bolelebo, children, children's library, kupang, ronik, west timor