Project Description

School in Ibelak PapuaPlace: Ibelak

Year: 2016

We are proud when our children and grandchildren do well in school. And if learning difficulties or other problems arise, the schools have excellent professional tools to do something about it. The contrast with education in Papua is great. In the mountain areas there is often hardly any education. The quality of education leaves much to be desired, the teaching materials are lacking and the teachers often do not show up. Another problem is the great distance the children have to travel to reach a school.

Elly Esema, alumni of Hapin / Grantgesture, has built a simple schoolbuilding in Ibelak, a mountain village in the Baliem Valley, together with other enthusiastic teachers. The children no longer have to make long trips to school and stay away from home for a long time, but can grow up and go to school in the safe environment of their own village. On a voluntary basis, these teachers teach 67 children, ranging in age from six to ten years old. To improve their didactic skills, they follow teacher training. Hapin makes that financially possible. The books were still a concern. Although they are free, the area can only be reached by plane. Therefore the costs for the transport to Ibelak are high. Hapin has also paid for these costs.