A literacy support program, Literary for Life, has just started from the YWAM Medical Ships Australia & Papua New Guinea (YWAM MS) Port Moresby Campus.
Literacy for Life is a school-based, short-term intervention program designed for children who are the lowest achieving in literacy, typically identified at the beginning of grade 3.
The program involves intensive one-to-one lessons for 20-30 minutes a day, 3 days a week, with a YWAM MS trained Literacy Tutor.
Sixteen tutors were trained by YWAM MS last month, including 9 members from Vabukori and Taikone, and 7 full time YWAM volunteers. The tutors will begin their work at Sevese Morea Primary School this month.
The goal of the program is to bring children up to the level of their peers and to give them the
assistance they need to develop independent reading and writing strategies. The students remain in the program until their reading and writing is at a level equivalent to that of their peers.
The tutors learned how to teach phonics, sight words, decodable reading, leveled reading, and writing through engaging different learning styles through games and expressive storytelling.
National Capital District Division of Education Projects Coordinator, Mr Xavier Wablasu, said he was pleased the Literacy for Life Program is now starting.
“We have been eager to start this program here in NCD since hearing about its success in Fiji and Alotau.
The engagement of local parents and grandparents is what makes this program special I believe – I’m hopeful we will be able to expand the program into more schools in the near future,” said Mr Wablasu.
YWAM MS Literacy for Life Program Coordinator and teacher, Ms Candace Giwojna, said YWAM MS is thrilled to be starting the program after much planning with the National Capital District’s Division of Education and Sevese Morea Primary School over the last number of months.
“We are screening the grade 3 students this week to help determine which students will be matched with a tutor.
“In the meantime, a lot of the tutors have taken the initiative to tutor their children and grandchildren at home in the village. We have been really encouraged by their passion and commitment,” said Ms Giwojna.
YWAM MS is a Christian charity that has been serving in Papua New Guinea for the past 12 years with medical ships and land-based teams. YWAM MS recently established a campus in Port Moresby that serves as a hub for training and outreach in the National Capital District, and across PNG. In addition to Literacy for Life, outreach initiatives include mother and child health patrols in Western Province, a school dental program in Port Moresby, high school seminars focused on character development and wellbeing, and deploying healthcare and youth engagement teams to Central Province via small boats.
The vision is to help build healthy lives, families, communities, and nations.
Sixteen Literacy for Life tutors were trained by YWAM MS, including 9 members from Vabukori and Taikone, and 7 full time YWAM volunteers.
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