A reading garden in Yapsi is open again, with 4,000 books
Students from Bandung and neighbors in Kampung Ongan Jaya rebuilt a reading room that had sat unused. Local young people are being trained to run it.
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A community reading room in Kampung Ongan Jaya is open again, stocked with more than 4,000 books. ANTARA News reported it on November 3, 2026. Taman Baca Masyarakat Seribu Mimpi, in Yapsi district of Jayapura Regency, was inaugurated on October 23. Team 9 of the Bandung Institute of Technology's Patriot Expedition rebuilt it with neighbors over about two months. The building had opened in 2017 as Rumah Pintar Hati Papua and then stood unused for several years. The work added books and educational wall paintings.
Aulia Arfida Paramita, who leads the team, said the point was a place to keep learning, not only a room with shelves. Young people from the village are the managers, with training from local literacy volunteers. The village government is treating the building as a village asset. A Bandung drive, "1,000 Books for the Lereh Reading Garden," had gathered about 314 books from the public by October 23, inside the larger collection gathered with language and library agencies. Eighth-grader Fransiskus Moa told ANTARA he was glad to have a comfortable place to read and to be with friends. Early-childhood teacher Suwarti said a building that had been idle was lively again. The team has also asked the National Library to register the room. The news is this reopened garden and its books. It is not a measure of how many children in the district are reading every day.
For the classroom
A reading room in Kampung Ongan Jaya, in Papua, Indonesia, is open again with more than 4,000 books. ANTARA News reported it on November 3, 2026. The room was inaugurated on October 23 after about two months of repairs. It had opened in 2017 and then sat unused. Students from Bandung worked with neighbors to fix it. Young people from the village are learning to run it. Eighth-grader Fransiskus Moa said he was glad to have a place to read with friends. The news is this room and its collection of books.
- What can a reading room offer that a closed building cannot?
- Why does it matter that young people who live nearby are the ones learning to run the room?
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