A Group of IPB Students Publish KOCIL, Love the Environment Comic
Children are our greatest asset and our most precious treasure. They represent the bright future of our country and hold our hopes for a better Nation. Our children are also the most vulnerable members of society. Protecting our children against the fear of crime and from becoming victims of crime must be a national priority. Sustainability of our life is in their hands. Children who are well educated, will have good character in the future. Education is humanity’s best hope and most effective means in the quest to achieve sustainable development. Unfortunately, educational neglect robs children of potential and leads to disastrous consequences including criminal activity, drug use, and environmental degradation.
As we become increasingly more reliant and absorbed in technology, it is no surprise that today’s children have become avid users of Information and Communication Technology, including gadget as well. We can not be denied, the presence of gadgets today become an integral part of the majority our children's characters. Beyond the control of a parent or an accompanying adult, children will be at their disposal with the gadget they have. If good habits are inculcated in the child and if he/she is instructed in knowledge, then the child after gaining such excellent nourishment (upbringing), achieves the real success of this life and of the life hereafter. In the absence of parental attachment, detached children attach to devices, resulting in addiction.
Children's addiction to this gadget is inevitable, as it is a demand of the times. Smartphones have become a modern pacifier. They can calm kids down and keep them quiet, but they can also be addictive. Therefore, there must be innovation. Provision of educational features in the gadget is essential. This was the reasons why 5 (five) students of Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) created the comics gadget-based educational innovation. This comic is called KOCIL or Love the Environment Comic. Those 5 (five) students were Nur Maezulpah, Ngudi Nurhidayat, Haning Anggunira, RM Muhammad Nur Fauzan, and Fahmi Abdurrahman.
The group was headed by Nur Maezulpah, and she has focused on environmental issues. She decided to do so as the consequences of gadget addiction will cause children don’t pay attention on the surrounding environment. The innovation that was chosen in the form of comic was also motivated by the concern of Nur and his friends on the low reading interest owned by the people of Indonesia. According to UNESCO data in 2012, reading interest in Indonesia is only 0.001 percent. This means that from every thousand Indonesian people only one person who likes to read. The hope, with the existence of this comic can increase reading interest in children because the comics tend not monotonous like other books and interesting reading for children.
Most supporting characters KOCIL are portrayed in this way, the love of the environment. They presented in an interesting storyline and easy to understand by children. In addition, KOCIL also includes hygiene education. Moreover, KOCIL covers various environmental theme; for example “the quality of our environment affects all of us no matter where we live”. “The environment is our home. If it is not healthy, we will not be healthy either”. KOCIL had been applied for Elementary School (SDN) Cinangka 01, Bogor Regency, with 239 (two hundred thirty nine) pupils. School cleanliness is still the responsibility of the janitors and teachers. The reading habits of SDN Cinangka 01 students is still low. So far record on the use of the library materials is low. The monotonous reading books in the library is the reasons for low utilization of the library materials.
Currently, KOCIL's is presented in comic book form. The group planned to promote the utilization of library materials to increase the reading habits of the pupils. How to transfer KOCIL into the gadget is still in progress, especially how to attractive for children around them. They expected to transfer KOCIL to become one of the features in the gadget has been initiated by Nur and her team through Webtoon. "Hopefully whenever KOCIL is accessible by internet, it will be more beneficial for public at large," he said. (Wied)
