UNAIR NEWS – In Student Creativity Program (PKM) 2016 held by Higher Education Directorate (Dikti) there is a category focused on community service, PKM Community Service (PKM-M). One of Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) students’ PKM-M works which is funded by Dikti is PKM-M “Boncabe” (Boneka Cerdas, Pandai dan Berbakat  or Smart, Intelligent and Talented Doll) with a theme “Hidup Sehat dan Bersih Bersama Boncabe (Live Healthily and Hygienically with Boncabe)”. Boncabe has been proven effective educating children with special needs (ABK) in Cita Hati Bunda Foundation, Sidoarjo.

PKM-M Boncabe Team are Lidya Victoria (Politcal Science FISIP 2013), Fadhli Zul Fauzi (FISIP, Political Science 2013), Moch. Yazid Abdul Z.A (Faculty of Vocations (FV) Health and Company Hygiene and Occupational Safety 2014), Yasdad Al Farisi (FISIP, Political Science 2013), and M. Habib Hidayatulloh (FKM, Public Health 2014).

According to Lidya Victoria, The Head of this PKM-M team, the doll in the practice is used with other media such as pictures and video to communicate with ABK students. They were chosen because instruments like dolls, pictures and animated video are easier to understand especially for ABK children.

As we all know, Cita Hati Bunda Foundation used to be Cita Hati Bunda Education and Theraphy Center for Children with Special Needs, established on April 23, 2004. Then it was reestablished as legal entity or a foundation named Cita Hati Bunda Foundation based on Notary Act Number 25 dated March 16, 2006 by Ony Septy Pontuanto SH.

Cita Hati Bunda was chosen for the program because it has 20 teachers and 39 students with special needs consisting of  29 children with autism, 5 children with ADHD, 2 children with Cerebral Palsy, 2 deaf children, 3 slow learners and 3 with down syndrome. ABK  children in Cita Hasti Bunda Foundation aged from 7 to 15 years and some of them were from middle class to low class families.

With a theme of “Hidup Sehat dan Bersih Bersama Boncabe (Live Healthily and Hygienically with Boncabe)”, PKM-M Boncabe has four programs to perform in eight lessons. In the first and second lessons, the program is “Clean Boncabe”. The ABK students were taught of seven steps to wash their hands, throw garbage out in the proper place and change dirty clothes and take a bath.

In the third and the fourth lesson, there was “Boncabe Cheerful Smile”, students were taught on the importance of maintaining teeth’s health, how to brush their teeth correctly, and how to take care of their teeth. In the fifth and six lessons, there was “Boncabe Nutritional Food Choice”, they were taught on th importance of breakfast and nutritional food choices. Then in the last two lessons with “Routine exercise, Healthy Activity and Strong Body” they presented topics on routine exercise to maintaine their health in ding daily activities.

“The PKM-M Boncabe concepts are to make ABK children at school can implement healthy life style on daily basis so their health can be maintained well,” added  Moch. Yazid Abdul Z.A.

PKM-M Boncabe team hoped that with these concepts and materials of Boncabe, the teachers in Cita Hati Bunda Foundation can carry on the lessons to their ABK children even though the PKM-M team no longer in the foundation. With the end of these PKM-M Boncabe programs implementation, the UNAIR students’ team can create guiding book and program CD so that it can be implemented in other ABK foundations. (*)

Author : Bambang Bes