An Indonesian librarian is lending books to children in exchange for trash they collect in a novel way to clean up the environment and get the kids to read more.
Each weekday, Raden Roro Hendarti, a librarian in Indonesia’s Java Island rides her three-wheeler with books piled up at the back for children in Muntang village to exchange for plastic cups, bags and other waste that she carries back. As soon as she shows up, little children, many accompanied by their mothers, surround her “Trash Library” and ask loudly for the books. They are all carrying trash bags and Raden’s three-wheeler quickly fills up with them as the books fly out. She’s happy the kids are going to spend less time on online games as a result.
“Let us get kids to read more and build a culture of literacy from a young age,” Raden said. “We should also take care of our waste in order to fight against climate change and to save the earth from trash,” she said.
She collects about 100 kg of waste each week, which is then sorted out by her colleagues and sent for recycling or sold. She has a stock of 6,000 books to lend and wants to take the mobile service to neighboring areas as well.
Kevin Alamsyah, an eager 11-year-old reader, looks for waste lying in the village. “When there is too much trash, our environment will become dirty and it’s not healthy. That’s why I look for trash to borrow a book,” he says.
The literacy rate for above-15-year-olds in Indonesia is around 96 percent, but a September report by the World Bank warned that the pandemic will leave more than 80% of 15-year-olds below the minimum reading level identified by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
【小题1】What is “Trash Library” like?| A．Well-decorated. | B．Noisy and dirty. | C．Relaxing. | D．Popular. |
| A．To fight against climate change. |
| B．To collect trash for money. |
| C．To help kids get away from online games. |
| D．To get kids to read more and care for the environment. |
| A．Indonesia’s environmental situation is worrying. |
| B．People in Indonesia has a very low literacy rate. |
| C．The trash library has been introduced to many other cities. |
| D．The pandemic has a negative effect on teenagers’ reading. |
| A．A Novel Way to Improve Library | B．The Indonesian System for Reading |
| C．Your Trash Benefiting the Environment | D．Your Collected Trash for Our Books |
