Mrs. Yangganu Mandarip

Mrs. Yangganu Mandarip is a full time community-based teacher assigned by RD Foundation PNG to teach Kindergartens in Matupi Village.

She talks about how the RD Foundation's support really helps the village's education program and the children in particular as the direct beneficiaries.

Nursery Class in Siar Village - Dum Jabon's Class

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This early morning I and my office assistant Barbie went to Siar Village to visit Dum Jabon's Nursery Class. That was our second visit. We missed to observe his class during our first visit since the class was dismissed earlier before we arrived but today we were there just on time while they were having reading lesson.

When we arrived there the children were reading the Alphabets but stops shortly to say 'good morning' to us. They were very delighted to have visitors in their class that some of them could not focus anymore to what teacher Dum wanted them to do. They keep giggling trying to get our attention.

There were 31 children present in Dum's class. Most of them are of 4 and 5 years of ages. They are smart children. Teacher Dum calls them one by one to come in front and as he mentions the letter the children pointed it out using a stick. The same strategy was being used in identifying different kind of shapes. Another activity, teacher Dum asked 10 children to come in front and each of them holding a stick with a number card. The number is 1 to 10. The rest of the class were just waiting for those who were in front to raise the number card for them to read it. Obviously, the children have learnt a lot.

The children were just sitting on coconut leaves mat since there is no proper classroom and no chairs and table they can use.

There is no proper classroom for these children under teacher Dum's class. The only two classrooms for pre-school children in the Village are occupied by teacher Wosmai and teacher Fiona for the Kindergartens. Not even the Elementary School has the proper classroom. Their school building was left undone without walls, no chairs and tables and the same here the children just sit on the floor using coconut leaves mats. Its like no matter what is missing like the school building and proper classroom, our volunteer teachers are determined and committed enough to conduct their classes just to educate the young children. In Dum's case, he is using the space underneath the house of one of the RD Tuna Canners employee as his classroom.

Teacher Dum conducts his class underneath this house owned by Aldwina, an RD Tuna Canners employee.

The children went outside and rendered a song for us. That was very nice of them and as innocent as they are all is just like playing with the teacher..it's really true, young children are learning while playing.

About teacher Dum. He is a retired public school teacher and responsible for starting a Nursery and Kindergarten class in the village. About 3 years ago he organized a Nursery class teaching only his grandchildren. There was no pre-school in the village and he desperately wanted his grandchildren to learn at an early age that's why he came up with this initiative. But sooner, the villager noticed his initiative and became interested as well to send their children until such time that it becomes a village matter and not just a class for his grandchildren. When RD Foundation came, the Foundation assisted him to formally organizing the Nursery and Kindergarten classes, trained and assigned additional teachers. That's why Wosmai and Fiona are also teaching in the village.

Mr. Dum Jabon, a retired teacher who started the Nursery and Kindergarten school in Siar Village.

When I and Barbie left the village I brought with me a dream and a wish that one day a permanent school building will be built there for the children to have a conducive learning space, where they could sit properly and write properly. Then Dum, Fiona and Wosmai will be teaching there. A permanent school building will surely have a lasting impact to help make learning enjoyable and conducive for children.

Dream, wish and pray with us. God Bless these Children.

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.

Nursery and Kindergarten School Updates

One of the main thrusts of RD Foundation’s support to Madang communities is on children’s education. The overall purpose of this program is to provide support facilities to community-base Nursery and Kindergarten School where Papua New Guinea children could access free quality early childhood education thus increasing literacy and preparedness of children before going into elementary education.

The RD Foundation through its program staffs works with the villages by organizing the Project Management Committees (PMC) who are responsible for the nursery and kindergarten schools and other related activities which RD Foundation and the villages are engaged with. The PMC is a village structure whos members are chosen by the parents of the children enrolled at the school. They are responsible in planning for the school development and overseeing projects and activities and coordinate such with the Foundation.

Currently, the RD Foundation is supporting community-base nursery and kindergarten schools in the following villages;

Support Provided

a. Training of Community-Base Teachers

Community-base teachers are volunteers from the host villages who are assigned by the community to teach the children. RD Foundation supports them by giving trainings and seminars to equip them in their teaching job. They are organized into group and meet regularly to discuss issues affecting their job in the community.

In villages where number of children enrollees is high, we assigned our own hired employees to teach the children. In other villages, the Project Management Committees (PMC) assigned a community teacher who will look after the children. PMC is a community structure composed of leaders and parents appointed representatives, acts as the overseer of the community school and other related projects.

b. Provision of School Supplies and Materials

As a support, RD Foundation is also providing school supplies for the children. Items given include the following;

§ Work book, pencils, crayons, rulers, writing pads and other basic materials.
§ Chalk boards, writing table and benches and writing desks.
§ Assistance during school construction includes nails, transportation of bush materials and food for work.

C. Feeding Activities

This month of March 2010, we started feeding activities in response to teacher’s last year’s report that children’s attendance decreases and they could not concentrate on their learning activities due to hunger. We initiated feeding activities every 2 weeks during the weekend to encourage children to continue coming to school. We cooked meal of rice, tuna, egg, green vegetables, sweet potatoes with coconut cream. We also serve milk.

The mothers participated by helping to prepare and cook the food and served the children. They also bring food they cooked from their houses. During the feeding activities, the teacher also took the opportunity to organize a short program where children are giving presentations of their learning and talents.