Online learning is a necessity during the pandemic, and a humble warung kopi (café) in the East Java capital of Surabaya is winning praise around the nation for doing its part to help children who have no stable access to the internet.
Warkop Pitulikur, which is located in the Ngagel neighborhood, announced earlier this week that they are providing free wi-fi and hot tea for students for online learning at the shop. The café says no purchase is necessary, but the usage of their internet rests on one condition: no playing video games.
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Warkop Pitulikur owner Husin Ghozali, who goes by the nickname Cak Cong, said that he came up with the idea upon seeing that not all students can afford internet service and packages.
“I’m also a parent so I can feel it. There have been a lot of complaints from parents in my children’s class’ [Whatsapp] group. Then I came up with my own initiative, how to make my café useful for studying,” Cak Cong said.
Cak Cong has imposed standard COVID-19 health protocols for his café by cutting its capacity to half, requiring mandatory hand washing before entering the premises, and requiring face masks for staff and customers, among others.
So far, Cak Cong says that the students coming in and out to use the facilities have not disrupted the café’s operations.
“I’m happy that the students can be helped. I don’t expect profit … This is a hard time, everyone should unite to help each other,” he said.
Students who come to Warkop Pitulikur are not required to buy anything while studying there, with Cak Cong also suggesting that they should come after having their meals at home to save money. However, students will be warned and asked to leave should they be caught violating the one non-gaming rule.
“If they want to study, go ahead and use [the wi-fi]. I will give them hot tea, fritters, let’s study here. Who knows if they become important people when they grow up, they will remember Warkop Pitulikur. There could be someone who becomes the president and would say, ‘whoa, I used to have my coffee at Warkop Pitulikur’,” Cak Cong joked.
In a recent post, Warkop Pitulikur called out policy makers in Indonesia to improve internet availability for students.
“Schools have started, you only act when there are people who voluntarily help the parents and students. Now is the time for you all to spend your budgets to make [free] wi-fi more available,” the post reads.
