Optimalisasi Potensi Desa Bandar Khalipah melalui Program Pengabdian Masyarakat Berbasis Edukasi, Lingkungan, Digitalisasi UMKM, dan Penguatan Nilai Religius

Abstract

Community Service Program (Kuliah Kerja Nyata/KKN) is a form of implementing the Tri Dharma of Higher Education that provides students with opportunities to apply academic knowledge through direct community engagement. This service activity was conducted in Bandar Khalipah Village, Percut Sei Tuan Sub-district, Deli Serdang Regency, North Sumatra, a densely populated area facing several challenges, including limitations in non-formal education, environmental cleanliness issues, low digital adoption among Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and the need to strengthen religious values. This program aimed to support community empowerment through four main pillars: education, environmental improvement, MSME digitalization, and strengthening religious activities. The implementation used a participatory action research (PAR) approach consisting of observation and social mapping, collaborative planning with village authorities and community leaders, program implementation, evaluation, and sustainability monitoring. Data were collected through participatory observation, semi-structured interviews, and documentation, then analyzed using descriptive qualitative methods. The results showed positive impacts, including increased learning motivation among children through tutoring activities, improved public awareness of environmental cleanliness through communal activities and waste management education, enhanced MSME digital capacity through the creation of social media accounts and digital catalogs for online promotion, and increased participation in religious activities such as Quran recitation and children’s religious learning. This program demonstrates that community-based and participatory approaches can contribute to sustainable village empowerment and provide a potential model for similar initiatives in other densely populated communities.