Margaret Emmanuel has always wanted to be a changemaker in her community.
A teacher by profession with 15-years experience, Margaret with the support of her family and church has been volunteering to teach adult literacy classes in her community, in Ialibu, Southern Highlands Province for almost two years now.
Margaret saw that there was lack of education services in her community and wanted to do something.
“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,” says Margaret.
In 2022, over a three-month period, 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.
Margaret has now taught three groups, including one combined for students in Grade 8 to 12. This approach has encouraged parents to support their children to further pursue their education and dreams.
“Most parents don’t know how to read and write thus find it difficult to support their children,” she said.
The community supports Margaret's initiative and hopes that there can be positive change when everyone learns how to read. She has gained recognition as a rising leader in her community. It is Margaret’s hope to further this adult literacy trainings throughout the district.
Through the Australian Government’s Church Partnership Program, church partners such as BUPNG are delivering adult literacy training programs which are contributing to improving PNG’s literacy rate.