Twenty timid children, aged from four to eight years (and a few who didn’t know their age, but I suspect they are closer to ten), turned up on January 29, 2025, to begin their education. I must admit I was concerned, as one of the prerequisites was that they must be able to speak English, but one little girl named Phildelma wouldn’t even talk, so I spoke to her father to help teach her.
Most of the children come from the two villages on either side of Kapuna. They spent their first weeks learning Uniskript, a program that uses phonetic symbols and is taught in their local language. About ten years ago, some of our teachers and linguists, Robbie and Debbie Petterson, went to Hawaii to learn Uniskript and develop the symbols for the local languages. The children love Uniskript because it is so much fun and easy to understand, being in their own language. Then we bridge to English, where each week they learn a new letter, number, and nursery rhyme. We have decided that slow, steady, and fun is the way forward, and if the children grasp these foundational teachings, they will have a strong educational future. It is now just over halfway through the year, and these children are transformed beings.
The worry/shyness is gone—each morning they confidently stand up and share their news. Four-year-old Clarisah sings at the top of her voice like an opera singer. I was amazed when we were playing a math game, and little Phildelma was beating the older children as she shouted out her basic math sums. These children, who didn’t know how to hold a pencil when they started, are now reading emergent readers and learning to write stories. Best of all, they are so appreciative, and wherever I go, they come rushing to give me a big hug.
So, how did this transformation happen? Their main teacher, Mary Koivi, was a typical grade 10 dropout with no hopeful future. One day, she was a TB patient in the hospital, and I am always on the lookout for ‘talent,’ so I recruited her. After completing her Discipleship Training, she went on to do a basic Early Childhood training course with Janai Calvert. When I walk into the classroom, I see a “Janai photocopy”—she displays all she has learned to perfection. She has now been with us for six years. We also have three Early Childhood Teacher Trainees who have so much potential to be “Mary photocopies.” They will graduate at the end of this year with our GCS certificate. Most importantly, these children are finding their identity in God, their Creator.
