In the village of Muntang on the Indonesian island of Java on Nov. 9, a group of children carrying garbage bags scramble around the "garbage library" for books. This is a new trick that a librarian in Indonesia came up with to encourage children to acquire knowledge, both to clean up the environment and to encourage children to read more.
Children exchange plastic waste for books Source: Reuters
It is understood that every weekday, librarian Redon Henday would ride a tricycle full of books to the village of Muntang in Purbalingga County, Central Java, where the children would exchange plastic cups, bags and other garbage for a few books to read, and Hentati would take the garbage away. She is glad that the children have reduced the time they spend playing games in this way.
"We should cultivate children's reading habits from an early age to mitigate the harm caused by the online world, but also to combat climate change and protect the planet from pollution," Hendarty said. Hendarty trades 6,000 books a week for about 100 kilograms of garbage, which her colleagues sort and send for recycling or sale. Hendarty said it will further expand its business scope.
Indonesia's literacy rate is about 96 percent of people over the age of 15, but a World Bank report released in September warned that covid-19 will cause more than 80 percent of 15-year-olds to read below the minimum levels set by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Source: Lianhe Zaobao, World Wide Web
Editor: Huang Lixia
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