Willem Ombiaf – Artist in training

Willem – a student visual arts at the ISBI art faculty – has been part of Hapin’s scholarship program for quite some time now. “Five days a week I have to be in class at 8:00 in the morning. To be on time, I leave at half past six from my house in Sentani. Because if I’m late, the teacher won’t let me into the classroom. Unfortunately I can’t afford a motorcycle. I therefore use my Hapin scholarship to go to campus by taxi.”

Willem’s story proves that studying in Papua is far from easy. Gradually he completed one of the last parts of his studies: fieldwork research. With attention and precision, he mapped out the process of which dye is produced for woodcarving. The red dye is extracted from soil, the black color is extracted from the grain of the sago tree and white matter comes from the combustion process of sea snails. The study concluded in a detailed research report that was rated with high marks.

However, nothing is what it seems in the context of Papua. Because his teachers failed to enter the grade into the administration system, Willem received no proof of completion of the semester. The advice of the board of studies was to repeat the semester. It is just one of many situations in which students in Papua are victims of mismanagement, corruption and shady administrative policies. But it did not deter Willem and after knocking many doors, the administration was confirmed and his grades were processed. One semester to go and Willem will have his coveted diploma in his pocket.