Meet a Special lady making a difference
The sign on top of a shop shouts out to us, driving in the Port Moresby suburb of Erima located a few miles from Port Moresby Airport. By all appearances for visitors passing by on the main road it gives the impression of being just another very poor area. But for the locals living in the region it’s much more than what first impressions might suggest.
You immediately feel a high level of discomfort if you take a side road into the community. Like the writer, a passenger with our volunteers, being driven into the heartland of this settlement for the first time.
Mariujuana is the currency used here. Drug traffickers abound.
The purpose of our visit, was to meet a very special lady, Ogasta Daniel. She is a Christian.
Two years ago, Ogasta felt a calling to commence a care centre for the disadvantaged children in her locality by teaching basic literacy skills. As a result children attend daily from a variety of disadvantaged backgrounds.
What we did not expect was this!
The care centre was located under a house – see the picture of house and the area in which Ogasta teaches basic literacy to the children below.
She has virtually nothing to work with. No exercise books, no pencils, no basic teaching aids for the children. The little she has, Ogasta purchases with her own money.
Apart from a few ladies assisting Ogasta, she receives no financial funding or donations to help her make a difference to these children’s lives. Ogasta gives of her time voluntarily.
Ogasta gives of her time voluntarily. We are now regularly providing much needed food to help Ogasta feed the children .
Recently we received a donation to provide basic classroom resources for the teacher and children.This will include materials for teaching, exercise books and pencils.
Dennis Perry
President-Operation Food for Life