Today I hope to provide a brief overview of a recent project that Mission Aid was able to assist with funding. Recently we were able to support the Living Water Christian School (LWCS) in Lae in the purchase of tin to replace their roofing. While our main projects are ongoing, we also sometimes provide support for once-off projects and this was one such project.

The LWCS roof has previously been made of morota, a roofing made of woven sago leaves. The morota is common in PNG, but is also susceptible to rotting due to the high humidity and rainfall in the tropical climate, as well as being eaten by insects. In January 2023 some of the morota was replaced due to rot, but it was seen that the rest of the roof would need replacing soon. In April last year, the board of LWCS approached Mission Aid and asked if we would consider funding the shortfall of a budget to replace the morota roofing with tin. Mission Aid agreed to fund this project, with the expectation that LWCS would also fundraise a significant amount for the project themselves.

In early January this year, in the middle of the school holidays, a toksave (message) went out to the congregation of Living Water Reformed Church that the morota roofing needed to be dismantled as it was going to be replaced. The next day a number of church members arrived at the church and helped to remove the morota. A lot of the morota was already quite deteriorated, with insects having eaten large portions of it, and other parts were quite thin and dusty. Within one day, the morota was all taken down.

At this time, steel and tin was ordered and delivered to the school, though some of the tin took a few weeks to arrive. Paul Kamina, the property manager, hired five youths from the church as casual workers. Together they did the bulk of the work cutting metal brackets, drilling holes in them, welding them to the steel trusses, and bolting on the purlins. After that, the chicken wire along with insulation to reflect the heat was screwed onto the purlins. From there the tin was installed, giving the building an improved look.

The project was completed in mid-February, one week after classes began. Since many students had not returned to school yet after the holiday break, this did not disturb the running of classes. The school further hopes to install PVC pipe as gutters and install a tank so they can collect rainwater from the roof.

The teachers were very happy to have this new roofing on the classrooms. It means they will no longer have to sweep the classroom floor regularly because of all the dusty mess created by the insects eating the morota and their classrooms will remain better protected from the weather.

We are thankful to be able to support projects like this to help our brothers and sisters in PNG. We are only able to do this through your generous donations. If you wish to donate to a project please visit our website and click ‘donate’.

https://missionaidpng-ne.squarespace.com/

On behalf of Mission Aid North East PNG,

Brooklyn Visser

One of Mission Aid NE PNG’s annual commitments is to fund a teacher from Australia to travel to PNG and provide some professional development for the teachers there. I was given the opportunity to do go this year. The Reformed Churches of Papua New Guinea have 4 small schools, 2 in the Port Moresby region, 1 in Lae and 1 in Wantun. I spent 3 days with the teachers from Lae and Wantun.

Living Water Christian School in Lae started in 2013, at that time there was only one preschool class. The school grew to have for classes, the equivalent of Kindy to year 2. Upon completion of year 2, students would move to a local public school. In 2021, an additional class, years 3-8 was added to the school. This class has only been open for children of the church. Enrolment in the younger classes are a mixture of community and church children. My Father’s World curriculum is the basis for teaching in the upper classes, while the younger classes use a combination of programs, many of them similar to those used in the John Calvin Schools in Armadale.

Logos Glory Christian School in Wantun offers education for children from Kindy to year 2. As in Lae, students in these classes are from both the community and the church. The school has 3 teachers. It uses My Father’s World curriculum as the basis for its teaching.

The theme for this year’s professional development was Covenantal Education. While the plan was for us to meet on Monday 8 January to Thursday 11 January, due to the unrest and riots in PNG on Wednesday and Thursday, the final day was cancelled.

Monday afternoon gave presenter and participants an opportunity to get to know one another. After initial introductions, we shared a meal together and then enjoyed some ice-breaker activities.

Tuesday morning’s session was dedicated to sessions about what Covenantal Education is and how teachers in Lae and Wantun can teach with a covenantal focus, teaching covenant, baptised children while also presenting the gospel and love of God to children whose parents are not members of the Reformed Churches of PNG.

In the afternoon, the focus was on telling Bible stories. The schools were presented with copies of the Promise & Deliverance commentaries and given an example of a Bible lesson.

On Wednesday, the focus was on a Biblical understanding of classroom discipline. The second session provided practical strategies for maintaining classroom discipline. This session was a repeat of a session given by Julian Slobe in 2018.

Thursday’s session was intended to introduce the My Father’s World Curriculum for 2024, followed by a Bung Kai (festive lunch) and farewells. Unfortunately, this was not meant to be.

Professional development is highly necessary for the teachers in Papua New Guinea. At the moment, none of the teachers have an accredited teacher’s certificate. They do their work out of love for Christian education. It is their hope and prayer that one day trained teachers will be able to work in the Reformed Schools in PNG.

In the meantime, your donations to support Christian education in PNG are sought. Information about the projects can be found on the Mission Aid Papua New Guinea North East website. https://missionaidpng-ne.squarespace.com/

Mission Aid values the donations which come each year in the form of the Birthday Appeal envelopes and through personal donations. If you wish to support Mission Aid in its work, your donations can be made electronically to the following account:

Mission Aid

BSB: 066 131

Account: 00902095

With Christian greetings,

Elaine Vandenbos