Outback schools get support

The National Weekender
EDUCATION

Kumura Foundation is helping remote schools and draws support from others who share his passion to improve education for opportunities for disadvantaged communities.

THE little Ace (Accelerated Christian Education) school in Gembogl, Chimbu run by Willie Gene and wife Patricia received wonderful support from Kumura Foundation at their ninth graduation on Tuesday, Dec 10.
The school was started in 2010 and is one of the feeder schools of Gembogl Primary School. The graduates of this school were often among the top 10 students of Gembogl Primary School ever since the school started sending its students there.
In 2007, Willie Gene, a medical officer at Gembogl Health Centre started the Gembogl Orphan Resource Centre for orphans whose parents have died pre-dominantly from Aids. In 2010, he and his wife Patricia decided to set up the Ace school for the orphans. The school is known for its high academic excellence, discipline, and commitment to teaching, hence, it eventually allured the registration of a lot of non-orphans.
It is a private school that doesn’t receive government subsidies and about 85 per cent of the students are children of subsistence farmers of Gembogl. Given its meagre finances, the board of management couldn’t even afford salaries for its teachers. Hence, teachers only serve as volunteers. Over the years, the school has involved in farming and poultry projects to help offset the shortages of school fees and sustain its operations. However, this year was different.
When presenting the financial report at the graduation Gene, the director of the school, noted that they were not able to farm or sell chickens to help manage the school this year.
“For this year, we depended entirely on the school fees of the 136 registered students to run the school,” he said.
The school raised K7,000 from school fees and that was the only money they used to operate until the formal closure at the graduation. The dire financial situation resulted in them not being able to complete some of their proposed projects for this year. The four classrooms have only seven chairs with no floor mats, desks or louver blades.

Gembogl Ace School students at the graduation ceremony.
Vincent Kumura presenting a student with her prize.

“Students would sit and learn on bare concrete floors, which is really a hard way to learn,” observed Pastor Joe Kuri, the Kumura Foundation agent in Gembogl.
Despite these challenges, the school has consistently produced some of the best students to Gembogl Primary School.
“As a community-based organisation with a rural education focus, this to us is very encouraging and therefore, we are happy to be here to support this worthy cause with our partners,” added Vincent Kumura, the director of Kumura Foundation who was also the guest of honour at the graduation.
Kumura Foundation donated a total of K10,000 worth of items to help enhance the learning of the students, which included K500 scholarships for the grades one two duxes. In addition, the school will also receive 500 library books in February next year.
“This is the first time for our humble Ace school to receive such great support from an NGO group. We really have no such expectations, and so, we thank you very much, ” added Gene tearfully. Many who were present at the graduation also shed tears of joy.
“This couldn’t have happened without the Kumura Foundation’s good partners in the Sir Brian Bell Foundation and Buk Bilong Pikinnini in Port Moresby,” added Kumura.
This year, Sir Brian Bell Foundation donated K40,000 worth of assets and the Buk Bilong Pikinini donated 6,000 library books to Kumura Foundation to support its rural education focus in Bundi, Madang and Gembogl, Chimbu.
Sir Brian Bell Foundation also paid for the delivery of 6,000 books donated by Skul Bilong Pikinini from Port Moresby to Goroka. The books were delivered along with other items from Sir Brian Bell Foundation to Kumura on Dec 4.
These items from Sir Brian Bell Foundation will go to four primary schools in Lower Bundi, Madang and two primary schools in Gembogl, Chimbu.
The books from Buk Bilong Pikinini will be distributed to eight primary schools, one high school and two elementary schools of Bundi and Cgimbu.
The donations will be delivered in February, when the 2020 school year starts.

  • Story and pictures from Kumura Foundation.