InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – The call to educate people is the main reason for Joko Purnomo to reach out the children of Orang Rimba in Bukit 12 National Park. In their spare time, they are independent smallholders.
Joko Purnomo atau kerap dipanggil Pak Joko adalah petani kelapa sawit swadaya yang tergabung dalam Gabungan Kelompok Tani (Gapoktan) Tanjung Sehati, yang telah bersertifikat Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) sejak tahun 2014, di Kabupaten Merangin, Jambi.
Joko Purnomo or famously called as Pak Joko is the independent smallholder joining in Gabungan Kelompok Tani (Gapoktan) Tanjung Sehati, that got Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certificate since 2014 in District of Merangin, Jambi Province.
In his daily busy activity as the member of the group, he prepares his time to teach the children of Orang Rimba in BDNP, (Orang Rimba is the other name used by Orang Kubu to name themselves).
Giving education to the children of Orang Rimba has been running since 2017 when he was taken as the honor teacher in District of Merangin, within special duty, teaching the children of Orang Rimba.
It is easy to teach them because Orang Rimba lives in groups. But when they should leave their habitat, Pak Joko who was born 38 years ago should wait for a very long time to meet his students.
They who learn with Pak Joko are about 5 to 13 years old. 11 of them are in kindergarten. 48 are primary students. He teaches about 59 students of Orang Rima so that they can read, write, and calculate.
“It is situational to get the place to study. We sometimes should seek the spot in palm oil plantations because they usually play under the trees. We mostly study in the plantation so that their parents could monitor them,” he told.
He also mentioned that some years ago, his friends from the Social Agency, District of Merangin and some officers from the province, tough them. But he is the only one from the nearest village from Bukit 12 National Park.
“I used to have some friends from Village of Mekar Jaya, but he resigned. I decided to continue teaching them. Seen from my salary given by the social agency, about Rp 700.000 per month, this is not the same with what I do,” he said.
He decided teaching them because of his call to educate the children around his village. Pak Joko mentioned, though they are Orang Rimba, they have rights to get the good education.
Source: InfoSAWIT, September 2020
