Masjid At-Taqwa is a mosque in Temuwuh Lor, Gamping, Sleman that possesses an Al-Quran Education (TPA). However, Masjid At-Taqwa does not optimally run its TPA due to lack of students and administrators. Departing from the circumstance, a team of community service of Program Kreativitas Mahasiswa (PKM-M) PUNAKAWAN of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) conducted Rihlah Budaya (a cultural journey) to overcome the TPA problem at Masjid At-Taqwa.
Rihlah Budaya is a program to introduce wayang (a Javanese puppet) to children. Wayang can be a medium that enlivens children’s enthusiasm in learning Al-Quran. “Children nowadays seem to forfeit the local wisdom in Javanese cultures. Rihlah Budaya encourages all children to learn Al-Quran through wayang. The PKM-M team, led by Sugito, S.IP., M.Si agreed to construct Masjid At-Taqwa not only as a place to learn Al-Quran, but also a place to introduce local wisdom through Wayang Punakawan,” stated R. Muhammad Ridwan, head of PKM-M PUNAKAWAN on Friday (10/5). The PKM-M PUNAKAWAN program was funded by Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education (Kemristekdikti) as part of Program Kreativitas Mahasiswa in 2019.
TPA PUNAKAWAN aspires to optimize the role of TPA as a place to increase children’s spirituality. Besides, TPA PUNAKAWAN also attempts to increase effectiveness and attractiveness of children in learning Al-Quran, introduce wayang to children, and plant Islamic values and local wisdom of Punakawan to children. Subsequently, the program has been running since March 2019 and has conducted a motivational preaching for parents to increase students’ comprehension of studying Islam. Apart from that, the PKM-M PUNAKAWAN team also developed a module comprised of methods and materials of TPA.
Ridwan declared, “The TPA is conducted three times a week, using the module we have arranged. We conduct three methods of teaching, namely Al-Quran recitation, memorization, writing of hijaiyah letters, and drawing.”
Additionally, PKM PUNAKAWAN Program also conducted Training of Trainer (ToT) for teenagers of Masjid At-Taqwa. The ToT is aimed as means to maintain program’s sustainability. Other activities were Pojok Budaya (a cultural corner), filled with traditional games and Islamic books as facilities of the TPA. Besides, the team also incurred other activities, namely Wisuda Al-Quran and competitions between children of Temuwuh Lor. Hopefully, the activities will motivate children to learn Al-Quran and Javanese culture.
