There are still some speech-impaired (kolok) residents in Bengkala Village, Buleleng Regency, who are illiterate. One of the contributing factors to this is the lack of education. This reality has drawn the attention of Undiksha students. Efforts to alleviate illiteracy among the Kolok population have been carried out through the 3D-Based Aksara (mutual embrace action) Cards Training.
This training is part of the PKM-PM program, conducted by a student team led by Luh Desy Antari, with members Gede Oditya Aresta, Ni Putu Sri Wahyu Dewi, Ni Kadek Putri Santiadi, and Ida Bagus Kade Sudika Puja. The program is guided by Dr. Outu Nanci Riastini, S.Pd., M.Pd., this empowers the youth group, Teruna-Teruni, of Bengkala Village.
The 3D-Based Aksara Cards are an innovative learning medium specially designed to assist deaf-speech impaired individuals in learning to read. The cards feature embossed capital letters that can be felt by users, lowercase letters in the bottom-right corner, SIBI signs (Indonesian Sign Language) in the top-right corner, words that represent the local context of Bengkala Village, and images representing those words. This program was conducted from April to July 2024.
In addition to training, assistance was also provided to the youth group, who acted as reading coaches, and Kolok residents as participants. The assistance sessions were conducted 8 times using the Aksara method. At the end of the program, a SIBALOK (Kolok Reading Competition) was held to evaluate the reading ability of Kolok residents, who were previously illiterate. It is hoped that through this program, Kolok residents will be able to recognize letters, read fluently, and establish good communication with other residents.
