“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela.
The indigenous Papuan people have struggled to maintain their identity and retain control of their land since Papua became a province of Indonesia in the 1960’s. At the time, a transmigration program was established, and many thousands of people moved from other parts of Indonesia every week, mainly from the Javanese islands. Native Papuans are now outnumbered by migrants, are disadvantaged in many ways, and struggle to achieve similar economic development.
The Black Pearl Network (BPN) grew out of an appeal for support and partnership by the Gereja Kristen Injili di Tanah Papua (GKI TP) to the Uniting Church of Australia. The BPN project started with members of All Saints Floreat Uniting Church, and is now also strongly supported by Trinity North Uniting Church and other generous donors in partnership with the Uniting Church WA and the Uniting Church partner in Papua, GKI TP.
The Papuan people being supported through the Black Pearl Network have now also founded their own official organisation: Yayasan Mutiara Hitam Papua / Black Pearl Papua Foundation (BPPF).
The aim of the Black Pearl Papua Foundation (BPPF) in Papua is to use the impact of education to assist the Papuan people to make changes in a peaceful way. In Papua we can see the impact of education in action. Education is the way out of poverty for many of our Papuan friends and opens doors to employment in areas of influence in their country, and communication with others outside.
The Black Pearl English Course (BPEC) began back in 2015 with a single centre in the remote Papuan village of Sarmi. Under the energetic guidance of BPN volunteer Ross Gobby and others it was not long before several more centres opened. Now nine years on there are 14 centres scattered across the various Papuan provinces. At the time of writing this article, Ross Gobby and Robert Hoskin (Uniting Church member based in St Kilda, Victoria) were attending the yearly BPEC teachers’ conference in Jayapura. This conference is one of the ways that the BPPF in Papua is ensuring a high standard of English language tuition.
BPEC teachers spent two weeks of their mid-year break discussing topics such as the new teaching resources, the Pelangi curriculum.
The new material, backed up by textbooks, student workbooks, on-line resources for both teachers and students creates a new curriculum and uniform teaching and assessment guidelines across all the teaching centres. The new syllabus has required a large investment by the Black Pearl Network in Australia but the potential benefits to both teachers and students are enormous. The new Pelangi curriculum covers a full range of levels from beginners through to advanced (university level) and will ensure consistently high standards of teaching throughout all the BPEC centres.
This has been another significant, though essential expense for the organisation. It is estimated that implementation of the program will cost approximately $10 000. BPN Australia has set up a GoFundMe page to cover the costs.
You may be wondering why English language education is so important in Papua? A high level of English language competence allows Indonesian students to qualify for tertiary level scholarships funded by both the Indonesian Government and by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Such scholarships enable students to study in many English-speaking countries such as the UK, USA, NZ, Australia and even in some European countries. The opportunity to engage in overseas education is highly prized and brings great educational, economic and business benefits to Papua upon the students’ return.
Many of the BPEC teachers have been awarded Australian and Indonesian government scholarships to study English in other regions of Indonesia. Some are currently in Bali and others will take up scholarships later in the year. Supporting teachers with ongoing study such as this is another important way that BPEC is constantly cultivating the program to deliver high level tuition.
As you can imagine you can’t run a project this size on peanuts! In fact, in previous years the annual budget was over $100 000. Recent budget constraints have led to structural changes within the organisation. It has been necessary for teachers to start collecting fees from students who can afford to contribute towards their lessons. Collecting fees is also important for the long-term sustainability of the project. Those involved with BPN in Australia are not getting any younger! The introduction of low, affordable tuition fees is the first step towards setting up a system that will survive beyond involvement of supporters in Australia.
Not all BPEC students come from affluent backgrounds, in fact many of the students come from a background of extreme poverty. It is important to offer scholarships to these students as it is essential to the ethos of the BPPF that no-one who wants to study be excluded.
The Black Pearl Network in Australia is currently looking for sponsors for these scholarships. It costs just $10 per month to sponsor a student – you can’t get much more than a cup of coffee for that these days! $10 per month even includes the cost of the new Pelangi student workbook for the student to take home and complete their classwork.
The friendships made in Papua have proved to be lasting, and the ongoing relationship between the Black Pearl Network and the various klasis (presbyteries) with which we work there are warm and co-operative. Through the Black Pearl Network, the Uniting Church WA maintains a very active partnership with the Synod of the GKI TP church in the Papuan provinces of Indonesia. It’s a partnership which delivers highly valued benefits to all of us on both sides of the Arafura Sea.
If you would like to find out more about student sponsorship please contact Kerry Povey, Chair of the International Partnerships and Development Commission – kerry@povey.net.au
Article by Kerry Povey, first published in the August 2024 edition of Revive magazine.
