A teacher with over 15 years of experience has found herself teaching adult basic literacy skills in her community in Southern Highlands Province.
Margaret Emmanuel from Ialibu had always wanted to be a changemaker in her community.
She said after seeing that adults lack basic literacy skills, she took on the challenge to help her people.
In 2022 Margaret completed a phonics training and a Level 1 Adult Literacy Teacher Training with the support of the Baptist Union of Papua New Guinea (BUPNG) church in Kompiam, Enga province and the Australian Government’s Church Partnership Program.
“People in my church struggled to read the Bible and understand the word of God. Since there were classroom buildings left vacant for many years, I combined the two and saw an opportunity to teach literacy”, said Margaret.
So far Margaret had taught three groups of people, one was combined group of students in Grade 8 to 12.
Margret says her approach encouraged parents to support their children to further by engaging more in their education aspirations.
Right: Preparing class materials.
“Most parents don’t know how to read and write thus find it difficult to support their children. For example, they can’t read report cards, so they neglect participating in their children’s learning. [Through these literacy classes], parents and children can work together, and learning can be both ways.”
Margaret’s initiative is suppored by her family and church community.
She hopes to further this adult literacy trainings throughout her District.
“I believe that when I change someone, that person will [go out] and change the community. I want to build that foundation early in the community.” said Margaret.