Bridging the skills gap in village without a school

Villagers in a remote area of PNG’s East Sepik Province are so committed to educating the next generation that they made their own classrooms from bush materials. But those buildings lie in neglect due to the difficulty of bringing in teachers and education supplies to their isolated community.

It means that young people in Paimbit, located in Angoram district along the Sepik plains, have missed out on a basic education which then holds back their ability to seize opportunities to succeed in a digital age.

However, a Basic Computer Training (BCT) course led by MAF Technologies has helped to bridge the skills gap by sharing practical tips for people who missed out on a full education.

MAF Technologies Ministry Partnership officer and BCT facilitator, Caine Ruruk, said the training was targeted to help people getting their first exposure to learning.

It’s an important boost for a village that built those classrooms in hope of a better life for its children but is now deteriorated through lack of use.

“The youth participants have missed all the basic foundations for proper education. The struggle for our trainer was the comprehension level even in the Tok Pisin language, so our approach really helped the participants to understand and follow,” Caine said.

The training was hosted by the Paimbit’s Assembly of God (AOG) Church which invited the MAF Technologies team to the village for a two-week project to give the participants a new set of skills.

The majority of participants were youths who had not received any form of proper education but, through the basic computer course, they were able to obtain a certificate of completion.

Paimbit Assembly of God Church Senior Pastor, and coordinator, Denise Manaqua emphasized that it was a dream come true and a golden opportunity to receive such significant service brought to their doorstep despite being in a remote area.

“As we are living in the cyber age, I am pleased that we were able to go through such significant training for our youths, pastors and community leaders in order to cope up with the advancement of technologies,” he said.

“I thank the heavenly Father for this Basic Computing Training initiated by MAF Technologies, as I've realised the significance of such training is very important for us pastors and even our youths to know how to use a computer for schooling purposes despite the lack of education system in our area.”

MAF Technologies serves to provide isolated communities with a foundational understanding of how to use modern technology, which is made available through the Basic Computer Training programme, so that underprivileged communities like Paimbit can use it to enhance their skills and be able to utilise modern technologies more efficiently.