A total of 354 UGM students participated in the online Student Community Service (KKN) ‘Caring for Covid’ held from May 4 to June 22, 2020. The KKN distribution areas are located in 18 villages in the DIY area including Sleman Regency, Kulon Progo Regency, Gunungkidul Regency, and Yogyakarta Municipality.
Previously, UGM had also carried out online KKN since the outbreak of Covid-19 in the country. Until now, the online KKN ‘Caring for Covid-19’ has entered its 6th period.
Director of Community Service, Prof. Irfan D. Prijambada, conveyed that under normal conditions UGM usually sends its students directly in groups to serve in villages and stay for two months, getting involved with the community. However, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the implementation of KKN was carried out online from the boarding house or the house of each student. Later on, students will be guided by online field supervisors (DPL) with the theme of education that is tailored to the conditions of the region.
“In general, KKN is done online. This is because it is not possible in the current condition for students to be in the field and live at the KKN place for 2 months,” he explained when contacted on Wednesday (6/5).
He conveyed that the ‘Caring for Covid-19; KKN raised the theme of health resilience. The students focus on educating the public about the prevention, handling and mitigation of Covid-19.
According to him, proper education about Covid-19 is needed in the current situation. The reason is, until now there is still a lot of misinformation about this new type of coronavirus and efforts to prevent it. For example, there are still many practices of spraying disinfectants on the body in villages. When in fact, these actions can be harmful to one’s health.
“Now students are directed to continue to convey correct information related to Covid-19 to the public, to fight against hoaxes,” he explained.
Not only being involved in education, KKN students also help rural communities in preparing for the community’s economy after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Irfan said that the implementation of online KKN will still be carried out in the next period, considering that the Covid-19 pandemic is still not over. According to the plan, approximately 4,300 students will participate in the implementation of KKN almost evenly in every province of Indonesia.
Source: https://ugm.ac.id/id/berita/19389-354-mahasiswa-ugm-ikuti-kkn-daring-peduli-covid-19
