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| The portrait of Amira Syafana, who serves at schools in frontier, remote and disadvantaged areas. (Photo: Istimewa) |
Good news came from the Elementary Teacher Education study program of the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM). Amira Syafana, a student of the major, was successfully awarded as the runner-up 2 of the “Putera Puteri Pendidikan Jawa Timur 2023” (Trans.: Sons and Daughters of East Java 2023) event. This competition was held by Glamour Look Pageants in Surabaya and was followed by dozens of participants.
It was challenging for Amira to go through the selection process to qualify for the grand final: registration in February, written test, interview, focus group discussion, and pre-quarantine 1 and 2; then followed by the last quarantine until reaching the grand final on June 11, 2023.
Another exciting thing is that Amira is an education activist who often goes to schools in frontier, remote and disadvantaged areas. She even established an advocacy organization, Teacher for Charity, which has the tagline “Bersama Eksplorasi Sekolah Untuk Meningkatkan Mutu (Bersatu)” [Trans.: With School Exploration, We Improve Quality]. Through the program, she hones her teaching skills.
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“With a sense of sincerity and a spirit of concern for education, I was moved to contribute to advancing this education, primarily in frontier, remote and disadvantaged areas. One is establishing an advocacy organization, Teacher for Charity, since 2021, as a formal means when I go directly to schools and become a motivator for people to care more about education at once,” said she.
According to Amira, education equality in Indonesia is still lacking, mainly in frontier, remote and disadvantaged areas, viewed from learning models, media, designs, and facilities.
Currently, she also focuses on therapists, helping autistic families, precisely in Omah Terapi Autis (Trans.: Autism Therapy Center). Amira teaches basic life there, such as cleaning the toilet, brushing teeth, holding a spoon, jumping, and teaching. “I happen to assist around-3-until-7-year-old children aged. I cannot turn a blind eye to the existence of special children. I am excited to be able to share things with and assist them,” said she.
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Amira is also productive in writing. She has authored eight books, some blog articles, and even awarded opinion articles. For example, her opinion writing entitled Merajut Asa Pejuang Merdeka Belajar (Trans.: Knitting Asa Freedom Fighters Learn) succeeded in winning the PEMNAS (Math Scientific Week) competition. According to her, the work is her effort to spread positivity for other students and young people to publish works.
Last, Amira advises all prospective teachers to be more attentive in education and not to be selective in performing their duties as educators because education is the frontline of a nation. The provided education also determines the intellectual and moral fiber of a nation. (imh/faq/wil)
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