Together with Fortuners, Storytelling with PAUD Program at Sanggar Fortune
A 3-year-old boy was diligently listening to the fairytales read by the lady before him. Occasionally, his tiny hands were clapping vigorously. His mouth was frequently responding and answering the questions posed by his teacher at the front of the class.
His name is Muhammad Lucky Fauzi. Although his voice was mingling with the chattering noise of the other children, his figure attracted most attention. “Usually, Lucky is somewhat quiet and shy,” said Sarwadi, the Headmaster of Early Childhood Education / PAUD Ragunan, happily.
There is indeed something different from PAUD Ragunan classrooms in that morning, October 31, 2012. In the Ragunan Meeting Hall RT 011/RW 05 which is also functioned as Sanggar Fortune, PAUD students aged 2-to-4 years received a whole new experience. Listening to the fairytales.
The storyteller was not their usual teachers; instead, they were the selected Fortuners who were considered to be the most enthusiastic in storytelling held by Fortune Group. They are Tara Seprita Supono (Copywriter of Activator) and Zahratun Mutmainah (Account Executive of Mocca).
In order to make the storytelling class to be more communicative, the hall of 5 x 10 meters was partitioned into two. Group A is for children age 2 years, whereas Group B is for children age 3-4 years. Tara told the story of a Pink Giant named Boli for Group A. Boli is often recounted as a giant that fart a lot as he eats too many sweet potatoes. Meanwhile, Zahra told a story for Group B about Ulil the Caterpillar that has a dream to be able to fly high.
Sarwadi said that this is the first time the kids got the chance to listen to the stories told in the class. “Unexpectedly, the children enthusiasm was outstanding. For those who are usually hard to focus, they were really serious in listening to the story. Not only persevering, but also responding in a high spirit,” said Sarwadi no less excited.
This middle-aged woman shared that some children are indeed given special attention since they are relatively quiet. One of them is Lucky. “But, when the story was being read, Lucky looked glowing and wanted to mingle with his friends. This progress is very positive for Lucky and the rest of the children,” said Sarwadi.
According to Sarwadi, most of the students’ parents of PAUD Programs nurtured by Sanggar Fortune are a poor family. Therefore, instead of reading a story to their children, they would prefer to earn the money for living. Lucky’s parent is one of the examples. Lucky’s father is unemployed while his mother is looking for a bite of rice by being a laundry worker with an income of 500 thousand per month. The amount still needs to be shared with the other four brothers of Lucky.
“Thus, we went directly to persuade Lucky’s parents to leave him here. Through the existence of this kind of activity, the children could get their rights properly, that is to play, to learn, and to receive affection. Thank you Fortune for helping us in realizing all of this,” said Sarwadi in tears.
Both Tara and Zahra admitted that they are very pleased when the class is over. For Tara, this is the first time for her to read a story to the children. “I do not have sisters or nieces. So, I was very nervous when I was about to begin. I only have two things: my determination and my love for the children,” said Tara jokingly.
The similar experience is also felt by Zahra. Although it is not the first time for her to read stories to the children, Zahra was not less nervous. “Actually, I often read stories for my nieces, but, this is different. There were so many children and I am not familiar with their characters. Plus, many of them were easily losing their focus whenever our way of telling the story is not interesting,” said Zahra. “It is more difficult to read stories to the children than doing presentation in front of the clients. Nonetheless, when I saw their spirit and heard their cheerful cry, it feels like there is a priceless satisfaction. Just like when winning pitching,” said Zahra who then laughed.
Sanggar Fortune is one of long-term programs of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of Fortune Group. In addition to PAUD programs, Sanggar Fortune is also a forum for empowering local communities, such as handicrafts-making for housewives, reusing junks for creations, and much more. Sanggar Fortune is an initiative of the FORTUNE Commissioner, Miranty Abidin, which was first established in 2009 in Pondok Pinang to improve the quality of children’s education in Indonesia.
“Through PAUD, we hope that the children of Indonesia could have the opportunity to cultivate their potentials during their golden age. Age 2 to 4 years is a very sensitive moment for developing children’s creativity, intelligence, and social skills,” said Miranty Abidin. “PAUD is the answer to the needs of the children at an early age which later will be developed into Indonesia’s human resources that are capable in responding the future challenges,” she said.
In addition, the short-term programs of CSR of the Fortune Group include blood donation, scholarships for the children citizens who excel in academics, to the execution of public service ads.