About Us

As the old saying goes, ‘what is meant for you will always find its way back to you’. Amidst her busy work with the village community and witnessing their struggles firsthand, she crossed paths with a little girl. Let’s called her Naela. Despite being 10 years old and in third grade with limited reading skills, Naela was dedicated, kind, and quick-witted. The founder realized that Naela’s challenges were likely rooted in her background. Born to a father who worked as a construction laborer and a mother who worked at the market, Naela was the second of four siblings. With her parents often busy, she had taken on the responsibility of caring for her younger siblings.

At school, the reading materials were limited, but despite these obstacles, Naela always arrived at the learning center with enthusiasm, eager to borrow and read picture books. She learned to read independently at home, which helped her improve her reading skills in just three months. Naela was also incredibly talented at drawing. A cheerful, kind-hearted child, she always radiates positivity.

This encounter reminded the founder that her teenage and adult clients—whom she had worked with—had once been bright, joyful children like Naela. This realization sparked a question: What could she do to help these children grow up happy, nurturing the seeds of kindness within them as they matured? How could she help them become resilient individuals when facing difficult times? It would certainly be even better if they could also help others develop wise resilience.

This question sparked her dream of building an organization that could grow alongside children. She started with the Adya Foundation, but despite the dedication of all the team members, it did not succeed. This setback led to a period of deep reflection: Why was this dream worth realizing? She embarked on a journey to understand whether the programs she had initiated truly addressed a need, asking herself, “Is this truly necessary?”

These outputs drive her to expand her vision by establishing the Adya Community in 2024. Despite the challenges along the way, her unwavering commitment to empowering children, like Naela, ensured that they had the opportunities to grow, learn, and thrive in a world full of possibilities. Our vision is empowering children through literacy to nurture healthy self-expression of emotional growth, resilience, and psychological well-being for a brighter, more inclusive future.

Our Mission

Using literacy as a tool to empower children, fostering emotional growth, resilience, and psychological well-being.
Creating a safe space for self-expression to help children overcome challenges, foster emotional growth and resilience, particularly for those from vulnerable backgrounds.
Inspiring children to access educational opportunities and make a positive impact in their communities.

Adya Community’s first step toward achieving this is to implement a program that trains children to create contextual picture books, which are offered for free. We produce contextual children’s books that serve as a source of wisdom and insight, created by the children themselves. In this way, the children can enlighten other Indonesian children, and in the future, Indonesian children will become the light of Indonesia. On the other hand, Bersama Adya commercializes these books to fund educational initiatives, thereby creating a more meaningful impact in the community.

Formerly known as the Adya Foundation, we are now Adya Community—an impact-driven initiative established by Bersama Adya. Our community is a place where goodness and wisdom thrive, embodying the spirit of the name “Adya,” which means a wellspring of goodness. Above all, the founder hopes that through our collective efforts, we can remind each member that their actions—no matter how small—have the power to ignite wisdom and bring light to the lives of Indonesian children. It is a space where kindness and wisdom are nurtured, fostering an environment where everyone feels safe, inspired, and joyful.

The founder established Adya Community in December 2024 after a long journey working in community development programs, psychological counseling, and research. Her first experience as a youth counselor and community development facilitator, beginning in 2012, revealed the complexity of psychological issues within communities. Moreover, she identified a significant gap in access to information, education, and healthcare.

One of the most heart-wrenching moments occurred in 2016 when a bullying video surfaced on social media. She came across an Instagram clip showing a vulnerable child, tears streaming down his face, as a group of kids lifted him and threatened to throw him into the water. It was recorded and uploaded by an adult, and his voice on the video supported the action. At that time, bullying was unrecognized, largely ignored, and the cruelty in this video went unnoticed as bullying. The child’s emotional pain went unheard and unseen, despite his screams.

This moment planted a seed in her mind: she wanted to empower children who had been bullied and help them heal from their trauma. Initially, it was just an idea, but it grew as she teamed up with a group of friends and began conducting small surveys on the issue.

This led to the vision of creating a non-profit organization where children could find their voices through writing, nurturing their confidence even in the face of life’s challenges. However, this dream faded into the background, overwhelmed by the demands of her work and personal life.

As she revisited her work, she recalled the complexity of the psychological challenges faced by marginalized youth—those living in vulnerable situations, such as children and young people in areas with high rates of sex work, in prisons, living with HIV, or those who are underprivileged in rural and urban areas. Through further exploration, she discovered that the 2018 National Basic Research data revealed a tragic truth: 1 in 10 children over the age of 15 suffer from emotional and mental health issues, 3.7% of teens experience anxiety, 1 in 16 face depression, and 1.4% even consider suicide. With nearly 30% of Indonesia’s population being children and adolescents, mental health challenges are alarmingly prevalent among them.

She became more convinced that literacy skills played a crucial role in alleviating these conditions. Research by Dr. Lucy Hunn and Dr. Bonnie Teague confirmed that poor literacy—particularly an inability to read and write—contributes to significant mental health challenges, including anxiety, loneliness, and depression. She recognized that enhancing literacy, coupled with good psychological well-being, could provide a powerful solution for these communities.

Undeterred by earlier setbacks, she founded the social enterprise Bersama Adya in 2022, driven by a vision to improve psychological well-being via literacy by contextual picture books. In the same year, she launched a free training program for children, teaching them how to create contextual picture books, supported by the Makadaya Fellowship Program. Since then, 484 children, aged 7 to 18, have participated in introductory workshops, with 100 of them receiving free enrollment. Of these, 50 children have successfully crafted their own contextual stories, and 11 have developed the skills to create full contextual children’s books. Four of the participants have published their own books, and one has met the eligibility criteria for an enrichment book in early childhood or elementary education, as confirmed by Decree No. 029/H/P/2023. This book has sold 191 copies both nationally and internationally. As of April 28, 2024, this initiative has also contributed to an education savings fund of Rp. 859,500.