EMPOWERING THE ELDERLY THROUGH A BASIC LITERACY PROGRAM AT THE LENTERA LEARNING CENTER, MAJIDI VILLAGE

Abstract

Background:

Illiteracy among elderly people is still a significant issue within various areas across Indonesia, including Majidi Village. Reading and writing proficiency is a basic right and freedom all people must enjoy irrespective of their age. The reason for the establishment of the Sanggar Lentera initiative is to empower senior citizens with a passion for learning and basic literacy skills yet to be gained.

Objectives

To increase the basic literacy skills among senior participants to be able to identify and memorize the letters A-Z.

Method:

These activities were conducted for four weeks with one meeting per week. The subjects were four senior citizens with age approximately 60 years. The process of learning was done on a participatory method with a whiteboard as the primary tool for teaching.

Results:

In this program, there were visible positive outcomes with gradual improvements observed every session. In the first session, participants were still having confusion with regard to recognizing the letters. However, there were remarkable improvements observed in the second session with participants successfully identifying and distinguishing the letters A-Z. In the third session, participants could successfully read the letters once they were being read aloud to them. In the fourth session, all participants were able to memorize the letter A-Z on their own.

Conclusion:

The "Sanggar Lentera" program was effective for senior participants to increase their basic literacy skills within a short timeframe and thereby proved that 'there is no age barrier for learning.