Dedicated to the Well-being of Papuan Children
In a village quite far from the hustle and bustle, Mama Herice, a 66-year-old woman, lives and fulfills a great mission. She is enjoying her retirement as an educator at one of the elementary schools in the village. However, she still has a big heart for serving the children in her village. She channeled this calling when she met WVI, which also has the same vision, namely to realize the well-being of children in Jayapura Regency, Papua.
"At first, I didn't know what WVI was. When WVI held an event in the village, I attended because I was replacing the pastor's wife who couldn't attend. I became the representative of the Sunday school teacher from the church," said Mama Herice. At that time, Mama Herice was still hesitant to get more involved in the programs that WVI was running. But because of her love for serving and teaching children, Mama Herice finally decided to participate. She took a role as a child facilitator in the village.
"Now, I'm very happy when I participate in WVI activities in the village. Especially when I was introduced to the Rumah Baca (Reading House) module which contains many interesting stories. That's what I use when teaching in children's groups and the Rumah Baca," she said.
Being a child facilitator in a village that doesn't fully understand child well-being certainly has many challenges. Mama Herice often deals with parents who are less concerned about children's rights, lack of attention from stakeholders in the village, children who are lazy to learn, and even lack of support from their families to go to school. But that doesn't stop Mama Herice from continuing to be enthusiastic in carrying out her duties of assisting the children in the village until now.
Mama Herice's perseverance in advocating for children's right to education has given positive result. The newly elected Village Head is increasingly aware of the importance of improving children's literacy. He pays extra attention to the activities of the Rumah Baca and intensively supports every activity that contributes positively to children. The Village Head also acts as an agent of change by continuously encouraging people to ask their children to come to the Rumah Baca.
"Thank you very much to WVI for trusting Mama, so that many changes have also been felt by the children here," she concluded.
Author: Imelda Elosak (Field Facilitator in Sentani Area Programme)
Editor: Amarissa Kayla (intern in Marketing Communications unit)
