Little Tobias has his eyes set on skies

Joram Tobias wants to be a pilot one day.
He is in elementary two and likes his classmates at Towongola Elementary School in Bulolo, Morobe, he dreams of the perfect job and improved living standards.
But the struggle is real in these remote area of the country.
Many schools do not have the resources, tools and or even classrooms to enable children to have a good learning environment.
At Tobias’s school, which has no more than 50 students from elementary prep to elementary two, the problem is the lack of desks.
Enter Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture which, through its education partnership programme, delivered Tutudesks to the school and excited children in the presence of teachers, parents and community last month.
Between May 26 and May 28, WGJV delivered another 200 desks to elementary schools in Zindaga, Bavaga, Hekeng, Venembeli, Pokwaluma, Zilani and Pekumbe villages.
WGJV gender and community development coordinator Grace Samuel told the students that the desks were different because they were portable, user-friendly and educational.
“These children are our future, they will bring change to your community so please look after and support them as they use these tools to improve their learning,” Samuel said. “These desks are different but they are proven to increase a child’s learning rapidly, so take good care of them and learn as much as you can from your teachers.”
Teacher in-charge of Towongola Elementary Rachael Yakutung, thanked WGJV.
“When we heard about Tutudesk, we thought they were the big ones for sitting. We see now that it’s different and made specifically for our elementary students,” Yakutung said.
“Our students move around a lot and their lessons are different so these desks are important, they have the basic knowledge written on them. It really helps the students and the teachers too.”
Developed in South Africa through the Desmond Tutu Tutudesk Campaign Centre, the Tutudesks offer children their own workstations, creating immediate, high impact and positive changes under any learning condition.
Made from a robust child-friendly polymer, Tutudesks were designed for durability as well.
These desks feature letters of the alphabet, multiplication tables, a ruler, the PNG national anthem and pledge and the PNG map, listing the provincial capitals.
Since 2010, WGJV has invested more than K2 million on education in its project area through the construction of new and the upgrade old schools, support for teacher training and school-fee assistance. These facilities include Zindaga, Zilani, Pekumbe, Kapunung, Hekeng, and the primary facilities at Zindaga. There is renovation works at Pokwaluma and Timini Primary schools.
WGJV bursary assistance has been provided to 288 students from the Wafi-Golpu area since 2012, primarily to assist them re-enter the formal education system through matriculation studies as well as vocational, colleges and universities.