Phina Noel is a devoted volunteer, teaching phonics to the children of Aumu village along the Purari in Gulf Province.
Phina says she holds classes on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Explaining that on Wednesdays, she attends fellowship with the other women of the village where she is the group’s secretary.
A mother of seven children herself, Phina says she knows the importance of education, and the need for children to learn the basics such as reading and writing.
Aumu village, like many other villages along the Purari River, lacks basic service infrastructure for schools and even aid posts. Fortunately, the village has a teacher who conducts lessons for children in elementary to grade 2.
Phina says in 2021, she attended a workshop facilitated to teach village volunteers the basics of teaching phonics in their communities.
On return, filled with inspiration to do something with the knowledge she gained, Phina wasted no time in mobilizing the children of the village. She started classes with 16 children. Today, she has a class of 22.
When asked why she teaches phonics, she replied simply, “Because there was no volunteer to take them, that’s why I volunteered.”
Phina says her classes are held in the village’s United Church building as there is no classroom for her to teach.
She informs that her phonics class is registered under the PNG Council of Churches and says the council has instructed that she build a classroom of bush materials.
This volunteer phonics teacher has a supportive husband who encourages her to do her best for the village children. He is helping her build her classroom. They have started by cutting down trees to make posts for the school.
She says while waiting for her teaching supplies to arrive, the village’s only other elementary school teacher assists her with chalks and two boards. Phina also digs into her own pocket money to buy books and pencils for her students.
Elizabeth Vai’i, a mother and local of Aumu, appeals for immediate assistance for the phonics school.
“Young people go to other places to school, didn’t succeed. We want help for our children’s education in the community,” said Elizabeth.
With so little to work with, Phina’s drive to teach her students with so few resources is a testament to a handful of other volunteer phonics teachers along the Purari, who also struggle to ensure their children do not miss out on what they deem is a significant aspect of survival, education.