Standing Ovation by Ovation Riding: Ridwan Sururi

Every week, Horse Nation teams up with Ovation Riding to spotlight an individual or organization doing good work in the horse world. Today, we’re recognizing Ridwan Sururi and his horseback library of Indonesia.

Adult illiteracy is a big problem in Indonesia, especially in the Purbalingga region of the island of Java. In this region, however, you can find one man volunteering to help bring books and the gift of reading to outlying villages: Ridwan Sururi packs books using his horses, providing a free horseback library service to the people of his community.

Sururi’s mobile library has become quite popular: according to the video, the children actually run and chase after Sururi and his horses when they see him clip-clopping his way into a village. Starting with just a few books donated by a friend, Sururi now has lots of books to offer in rotation.

The mobile horse library seems to be helping: illiteracy is in overall decline in Indonesia, but there’s still a long way to go. We salute Ridwan Sururi for his creative approach to helping to his educate his community, one book at a time!

To learn more about Ridwan Sururi, please refer to this BBC article.

Many thanks thanks to Ovation Riding for their support of both Horse Nation and individuals and organizations that are doing good work in the horse world. If you know someone who deserves a Standing Ovation, we would love to recognize them in a future post. Email the name of the person or organization along with a message about the good work they do to [email protected]. Photos/videos are always welcome, and include a link to their website if applicable.