Indonesia is a growing and developing democracy made up of around 234 million people spread out over thousands of islands and speaking more than 300 local langauges (1). Official literacy figures from the Indonesia government rate adult literacy fairly high for most provinces, however these numbers show only part of the picture (2).  Many Indonesians have basic reading skills but they lack access to materials that will strengthen and expand their literacy ability so as to function at a highier level of productivity. Young readers lack access to reading materilas which will stimulate their creativity and encourage them on to new heights and boarder understanding.  Many people especially in more remote rural areas, have developed coping strategies to compensate their basic literacy skills (i.e. Level 2 in UNESO's LAMP Five Levels of Literacy), and they need post-literacy or non-formal educational programs to meet the challenges of an ever changing world.  

While there has been much focus on education in recent years by the national government, the task remains too big for the government alone.  Many schools in Indonesia are greatly underfunded, in grave disrepair and few have an adequate library or after school tutoring programs to help kids reach their potential.  Because of this Cintabaca is getting more requests than ever from local communities and public schools to partner with them in serving the educational needs of their communities.

Local Communities Eager to Partner

As local elected officials learn about the services and programs of Cintabaca they are eager to form partnerships and see these services come to the communities they serve.  One official (right) recently said at an opening ceremony for a new library in Sumatra that "We should be ashamed if we do not welcome Cintabaca to our community".  Local leaders are opening doors for Cintabaca, by providing public space for reading posts and village libraries, providing endorsements and connecting us to others concerned with education and even providing funding for new libraries or additional books.

Relavant Statistics

Below are a few recent studies or statistics that help to give a more complete picture of the situation in Indonesia and the need local communities have for more libraries & non-formal educational programs:

• 2007/08 UNDP Human Development Report ranked Indonesia 107th out of 177 countries (source)
• 2006 OECD - PISA Study found Indonesia 48th out of 56 countries in terms of reading (source)
• 2006 International Reading Literacy Study ranked Indonesia 36th among 40 countries (source)
• 2006 Education for All Global Monitoring Report - UNESCO    (Link)

Vocational, Cultural & Moral Literacy 

While the number of books published each year in Indonesia is growing, it is still relatively small when compared to other neighboring countries and given the population of Indonesia.  Books are too expensives for the average families, often costing as much as one days salary.  Because of this most people do not own books or have a habit of reading, beyond reading the days headlines or other reading needed for daily functions.  Books can expose people to new ideas in their field or different cultures of the world and therefore can lead to greater vocational, cultural or moral literacy.  Cintabaca is committed to working with the local community to bring in books and content that they see as valuable to developing these other forms of literacy. Cintabaca is a secular organization and is committed to providing secular content, but has in the past brought its books to religious boarding schools to help supplement their collections.  Local communities are encouraged to setup advisory groups and play an active role ensuring that only quality books that build understanding and moral learning exist in their libraries.