No teachers want to come to Mt Bosavi and teach because it is so isolated and there are no basic services on the ground.
The children at the heart of Mt Bosavi have being missing out on the much needed education service.
Mt Bosavi region is the 3rd largest Rainforest area in the world and share borders with 4 different provinces, the Western Province, Gulf Province, Southern Highlands and Hela Province.
Because of the vegetation and isolation, there are no basic services in the area; there is no road access thus no basic services and development have reached the people of Mt Bosavi.
Mr Andrew Awabi who is the Chairman of the Mt Bosavi Sustainable Agriculture Development Initiative said few schools were built back in the 60’s and 70’s when missionaries came to Mt Bosavi and these old run down classrooms still stand today.
There are also few schools built out of traditional materials but at the moment most schools are closed because there are no teachers.
Students are willing to learn but there are no teachers.
Even villages closer to Hela and Southern Highlands are only accessible by third level airline, under MAF, Strickland Bosavi Foundation, and walking can take up to 3 days. These villages with schools have only few teachers but those villages further inland do not have the same luxury of having few teachers.
“No qualified teachers are willing to come and teach here because there are no basic services on the ground and there is no road access too, “said Mr Awabi
“Villagers who are at least literate are becoming volunteers so that they can teach the young ones basics.”
“These volunteers from the villages spend their own time, out of good heart to teach the youngsters basic, inside those rundown buildings built in the 60s and 70s by the missionaries and the traditional makeshifts.”
Sadly most of these kids cannot further their studies into proper primary and high school and it seems like the government, the education system and the four surrounding provincial governments have forgotten about the children of Mt Bosavi, he said.
Mr Awabi is now making a bold call to the National Government to make road links into the Mt Bosavi area so that schools can be built and Education and other basic services can be accessible for the children of Mt Bosavi.
