BERNIE CUEVAS
While on a mission for Handmaids of the Lord, a ministry for mature women of Couples for Christ in Papua New Guinea (PNG), we were hosted by our leader there, Delma Dumas. She is a Filipino resident who found her calling in that country. A successful businesswoman, she is actively involved in the church community as a member of CFC-Handmaids of the Lord (HOLD).
In Lae, PNG, where Delma resides, she has reached out to other women, especially people with low incomes who cannot read, write, or speak English. Spreading the word of God was a challenge because they could not share the word of God from the Bible.
Roughly 40% of the population in PNG lives in poverty, so they have no means to access education. Filled with pity and compassion, she became passionate about working with the underprivileged. She was led to establish a literacy school to teach community members how to read so they could read the Bible during their meetings. Using her resources and getting the assistance of friend donors, the construction of a makeshift school was made possible with the help of volunteers, including carpenters and other workers. On July 11, 2018, the school, constructed with bush materials, was inaugurated and blessed by the parish priest.
The school provides free education and school supplies, while volunteer teachers are only receiving an allowance. The management of the school was supported and funded by kind-hearted donors. After the inauguration, 400 students began formal classes that combined adult literacy and early childhood education. The school was a day school where parents and children walked together to attend their respective classes. Their initial thought that only women would learn how to read the Bible changed when parents and their children came to learn many new things, not only reading but also writing and speaking English. It was a dream that came true for the people in the village. For the Handmaids of the Lord, they were able to overcome that obstacle in their evangelization work, which was a great blessing.
However, the ugliness of poverty is still evident in the students’ lives. They walk far from home on a rugged road barefoot, exhausted and wet from the rain. Most of them do not have breakfast or enough money to buy food for lunch, and it affects their school performance.
The literacy program went viral on Facebook, and in 2020, members of Couples for Christ based in Australia visited the school. The members were actively involved in working with the poor in the Philippines through ANCOP, particularly those students who cannot afford a decent education, with the aim of transforming their lives through education.
During their visit, they made a generous pledge to raise funds to help us build a new school made of steel materials and steel roofing iron. In September 2019, a new school was constructed to replace the old school. In the first term of 2020, classes include Adult Literacy Levels 1 and 2 and Early Learners 1, 2 and 3.
By God’s grace, the school program now includes vocational training, such as sewing dresses and school uniforms. Training will start as soon as sewing machines become available in January 2024. Generous donors came forward who donated the sewing machines. Plans to provide training for the youth are also being organized with the help of volunteers from the Don Bosco Technological Institute in PNG.
The growing number of students, both children and adults, must be sustained. School supplies, books, bags, uniforms, slippers or shoes, raincoats, and other items are our priorities. Today, the school is sustained purely by donations. Whatever support they receive will help jobless women to support the needs of their families in the future. The dream is for them to become empowered and be able to sustain the education of their children. Financial support coming from all sectors is very much needed at this stage.
Having met them personally and having heard them express their dreams made me want to share their story with others who may be touched by the Lord to also extend help to them. I remember our Angkop Foundation in Bagong Silang for children in the mid-1990s. Because of the program to educate the children and provide livelihood training to their parents, many have risen out of poverty. They are leading a life now in the service of society and God. This can also, in PNG, help the youth grow out of poverty and discover a bright future for their family.
