Why aren’t we helping to build water systems, facilitate entrepreneurship, or lead women’s empowerment programs? Good question. The answer is that in a way, we are.
Education has been credited as the single most effective means of improving living standards in the developing world. Education enables the engineers, entrepreneurs, and leaders of tomorrow.
Moreover, Panango was founded with the intention of seeking and addressing development needs as identified by Papua New Guinean communities themselves; the need identified most by governors, parents, children, and the ambassador himself was English education.
English literacy is absolutely necessary to Papua New Guinea's development because business, government, and education are all conducted in English despite the overwhelming preference for the over-850 traditional languages or the nation's lingua franca, tok pisin, or Melanesian Pidgin, in everyday use.
From this linguistic mélange emerges a fundamental problem: all standardized tests are given in English, but lacking English education and reinforcement prohibits 50% of students from matriculating from eighth grade to high school. In Madang Province, averages on the statewide Grade 8 matriculation exam have fallen so low the government now issues passing grades for scores as low as 35%, perpetuating the problem.
Papua New Guinea is at a pivotal juncture in its history. As a developing country, change is constant and rapid. Just last year on Karkar—an island without electricity, running water, or a developed transportation system—a cell phone company built towers to provide the first mobile coverage on the island. This rapid change is an incredible opportunity for us to work with communities to aid them in development that is informed and sustainable. We believe, as the children and schools in Papua New Guinea believe, that the most important avenue toward these goals is education. As one high school girl said to us, “We value our education. Because most people never have the chance to learn, we feel blessed, and work very hard to continue.” The enthusiasm, motivation, and intelligence of Papua New Guinean students and teachers is incredible and palpable at all levels, from the elementary schools to University of Papua New Guinea.
We, as American college students, are in a unique place to improve English literacy in PNG. Mentored by local teachers in the classroom, we are able to share our English expertise with students of all ages without the formal training of TEFL teachers. And with the gracious hospitality of local families and villages, we also become agents of cultural exchange.
So PNG? It's one of those Guineas...in Africa? South America?
Nope. But we get this question a lot, so if you were confused, don't sweat (though you will if you join us this summer; we're just 5 degrees south of the equator).
Papua New Guinea is a country in Oceania made up of over 600 islands, including the eastern half of New Guinea (the world's second largest island). The mainland shares a border with Irian Jara, a province of Indonesia. PNG lies above Australia and to the east of Indonesia between the Coral Sea and South Pacific Ocean. Though only slightly larger than the state of California, PNG boasts over 820 distinct languages, an astonishing 10+% of the world's linguistic diversity. This linguistic diversity is even more extraordinary when one considers the population of PNG: under 6 million, or one-sixth of California's residents.
There are three official languages: the lingua franca Melanesian Pidgin, Motu in the Papua region, and English. English is spoken by only 1%-2% of the population, and a similarly low percentage of Papua New Guineas complete university. The literacy rate, defined as people over age 15 who can read and write, is less than 60% for the population as a whole, with women's literacy lagging about 12% behind men's.
In addition to linguistic complexity, PNG is also home to a great diversity of ethnic groups, religious and indigenous beliefs, and natural resources. The country's economy relies heavily on the extraction of natural resource such as gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, and oil. Most of the country's laborers work in agriculture. Unemployment rates range from a low of 2% to a high of 80% in urban areas.
PNG was divided between Germany and the UK in 1885. Australia eventually came to administer both areas until PNG's independence in 1975. Since then, the young democracy has made strides in economic, political, and educational development while maintaining its many vibrant cultures and ecological resources.
Karkar Island, where Panango is based, is in the Bismark Sea just off the north coast of the mainland, about a 5 hour ferry ride from Madang (see map). It is a 235 square mile volcanic island with three peaks, forested largely by coconut palm plantations and home to an estimated 52,000 people. The northern half is home to Waskia language speakers and the southern half home to Takia speakers.