Matupi Village Kindergarten School

Matupi Village, August 22, 2011. Matupi is a small village in Madang which is located just few kilometers away from the RD Tuna Canners plant. RD Foundation assigned community-based teachers in this village as the established public school is way too far and just too risky for the little children to walk through along the highway everyday with speedy vehicles around. This is aside from the fact that the public school do not include in their program an early childhood development program.

We assigned teacher Yangganu Mandarip in Matupi when the Village leaders requested us to assist them in running a Kindergarten School. Aside from the children from Matupi the neighboring villages also are sending their children. And due to numerous children a Nursery class was also organized where another teacher was assigned by the RD Foundation. There are 80 children attending RD suported school in this village.

On August 22, we visited the school and observed while they were having their classes. The children could read correctly and recited many ryhmes and Bible verses. We are very impressed and we can say that the teacher is doing her job very well. When teacher Yangganu was asked about the impact of the program she said that the people are very happy and thankful of the support from the RD Companies through RD Foundation as their children have learnt so many things.

Matupi Village organized its Project Management Committee (PMC) who oversee the Nursery and Kindergarten School. The committee is headed by Mr. Titaum Kob. Through the PMC they mobilized the parents to help accomplish activities and projects for the school. They built the classroom utilizing local bush materials and they intiated fund raising activities for the school. As of now, they opened an account in a local cooperative bank where they deposited their school fund.

Titaum Kob, the PMC Chairman

Mr. Kob informed us about their plan to start a vegetable garden for the school. He said that the parents agreed to help in clearing the bush, planting and maintaining it. They need the vegetable for the children feeding activities and the excess they will sell it to RD Tuna Canners. RD Tuna Canners is always in need of vegetable and bought their supplies from the open market of which most of vegetables are coming from highlands. According to Mr. Titaum, they were always encouraged by Mr. Kernie Fanagel, the Program Manager of RD Foundation, to start this vegetable garden and they will push it through this time. Aside from this, they are also thinking of puting up elementary school in the future that the children need not to go far from the village.

Early this year, Matupi Village sent 3 women as training participants on the Community-based teachers conducted by RD Foundation. This is their preparation to expand their school and accomodate more children from neighboring village. They have a total of 5 women trained as community-based teachers under RD Foundation.

RD Foundation have been supporting Matupi Village by assigning 1 full-time teacher and a volunteer teaching the Nursery class, giving chairs and chalkboard, school supplies for children and sponsoring children feeding activies.