The YSU scholars teaching in outermost, frontier, and disadvantaged regions program has brought Anisah Sukmawati Azmi to Probur State High School at Mataraben Village, Probur, Alor Barat Daya, Nusa Tenggara Timur Province. She is one of the teachers to teach students at the local school which has been established since 2013. In this relatively new school, teaching staff, administration officers and teaching and learning resources are limited. Compared to their peers, the students performances are poor. The challenge doubles when Sukmawati has to adapt herself to the new environment, culturally and religiously. There, she belongs to the minority, but it doesn’t shake her dedication to teach the students at Mataraben Village.
During her duty, Sukmawati also mentoring the students to prepare them for the district mathematics and natural sciences olympiad. Before the day of the competition, the students come to Sukmawati boarding house and prepare for the competition. Some students were limited in learning resources and only relied on textbooks given by the teachers.
The day for the announcement came and Probur High School received the first place for astronomy and second place for mathematics.
Their achievments were a motivation for other students and teachers to work harder and prepare better for the next year’s competition. “This has inspired us to achieve more. It is like a rainbow after the rain in Alor,” Sukmawati said.