When Belvi, a midwife in the remote village of Belawan, in North Kalimantan, Indonesia finishes her morning rounds at the local health centre, her day is far from over. As the sun dips and the quiet rhythm of village life settles in, she steps into her second role—one that’s helping to rewrite the future of her community.

In a region where many children have never learned to read or write, Belvi has become a storyteller and literacy advocate. “Parents here are often away working in the fields for days, and education hasn’t always been a priority,” she explains. This inspired Belvi to act, and she turned to the art of storytelling to inspire the young minds of her community.

A Reading Garden, and the Seeds of Change

In 2020, Belvi founded Taman Bacaan Masyarakat Pelita Kanaan—a community reading garden built from a simple yet transformative idea: that stories can open up new worlds. The vision was to create a safe, joyful space where children can learn to read and imagine a future beyond the village. The garden quickly became a daily gathering spot for children, full of books, songs, and shared storytelling. But Belvi soon realised that access to books alone wasn’t enough.

Many children struggled to read on their own. They needed more than books; they needed someone to bring the stories to life.

That missing piece arrived in the form of storytelling training from INOVASI, a partnership between the Australian and Indonesian governments, implemented by Palladium. INOVASI equipped Belvi and other local volunteers with interactive and culturally grounded storytelling techniques, helping them transform reading from a solitary task into a communal, immersive experience. Such techniques include using lively voices, integrating simple props and inserting local details to ground the story into reality.

“Before, I’d read straight from the page. Now, I use my voice, my expressions – I even invite the children to join in the story,” Belvi recalls with a proud smile.

The storytelling training marked a turning point, not only for Belvi, but for volunteers across North Kalimantan. One of them is Rahmawati, who runs a similar reading garden, TBM Ileh Taking. The name means ”rainbow” in the local Dayak language, and the garden became a vibrant learning hub where language development and emotional growth go hand in hand.

“The children love being read to,” she says. “Their curious questions and excited responses make every story a shared adventure.”

Iqbal Aji Daryono, an author and lead storytelling trainer, emphasises the importance of rooting stories in local experiences: “In North Kalimantan, floods are part of everyday life. When stories incorporate elements like floodwaters, the children immediately connect because it’s part of their reality.”

This approach is a cornerstone of INOVASI’s work -building literacy not as an abstract skill, but as a lived, culturally relevant experience- and is backed by data. A study conducted by the project in 2020 with 4,784 primary level students showed that teacher training, when combined with highly engaging stories, boosts students' literacy score by 10–25%.

When stories reflect the world children know, they do more than teach reading. They create a bridge between the familiar and the possible, opening their minds to new ideas and experiences.

Locally Driven, Globally Backed

“Our goal has always been to inspire communities to lead their own efforts in improving literacy,” says Program Director Sri Widuri. “What we’ve seen in North Kalimantan, and in similar initiatives emerging across other provinces, highlights the powerful impact of local ownership supported by smart partnerships.”

“Our aim has always been to empower communities to take literacy into their own hands,” says program director, Sri Widuri. “INOVASI’s impact in North Kalimantan underscores the value of locally driven solutions supported by smart partnerships.”

By offering support to community driven initiatives such as these reading gardens, INVOASI is empowering leaders like Belvi who are driving local solutions to local challenges. And their stories are reminders that change often begins in small circles, with children gathered under trees, listening to voices that believe in their potential. Through storytelling, these children are learning not just to read but also to dream.

The Innovation for Indonesia’s School Children (INOVASI) Program is a flagship partnership between the Australian and Indonesian governments that aims to improve education policies and practices. It supports the Indonesian Government in ensuring that all primary-level students in Indonesia, without exception, master foundational skills. Managed by Palladium, INOVASI is implemented in several districts and cities across Indonesia, in the provinces of West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, North Kalimantan, East Java, West Java, and Maluku.