Teacher Alivas becomes her own boss

By MICHELLE AUAMOROMORO
TEACHER Alivas Ehati resigned after 13 years of teaching after she got fed up of being “bossed around”.
But the passion and love of the noble profession had become part of her life that it was hard to just walk away.
So while extending her home in a Port Moresby suburb one day for the kitchen, she decided to instead convert it into a classroom. She wanted to establish a school of her own. She wanted to be her own boss.
That was in 2016. Today the Hillside Academy she founded has five classes. It had a roll of 120 at the beginning of the year but some students left for various reasons. Only 57 are left. The students, parents and Alivas held a small celebration last week to mark the end of the 2019 school year.
“I was suppressed (at the schools I had taught in) most of the time and I did not enjoy the work. So I decided to be my own boss. I want to make people who work under me enjoy what they do. Give them little bit of a break to enjoy life as they work and not living under pressure. The important thing is at the end of the day, I want the children to be happy and look forward to coming to school every day. The parents are happy, and I’m happy too.”
Alivas, 40, is from Eastern Highlands. She has three daughters and two sons. She is looking after them by herself after her husband left the family and married another woman.
“That was the difficult part. I was trying to handle my family life and the school. I was juggling two things at the same time. I cried my eyes out. But when I kept crying, nothing changed. So I got up off my knees because the kids were looking up at me. I said: Ok Lord, we are with you now. We are helpless.”
She resigned from the Gordon International School in 2016.
“I just built myself a home and never thought I would start a school.”
She teaches five classes: Observers, Beginner Prep, Middle Prep, Advanced Prep, Grade One and Grade Two.
She charges K100 per term per child.
She is working on getting the title to the land where the school is located, and have it formally registered.
Alivas is pleased with how the school had progressed so far and, more importantly, the impact of her teaching on the children.
“They are looking healthy. Above all they are performing much better. I did not experience this when I was teaching. Even the observers who are four running five are writing better.”

“ The important thing is at the end of the day, I want the children to be happy and look forward to coming to school every day. The parents are happy, and I’m happy too.”

Her short-term goal is for the classrooms to be completed and a proper fencing around the school, have flush toilets and a 25-seater school bus. And a flat screen television.
“The kids are praying for it.”
Alivas is confident God will help her in looking after the school – and her family.
“One day, you will fall back at His feet. That is what we did, and we have come this far.”