 |
Young man of vision Sunivi Segeya is one of those people you just know will go far given the right opportunities. However, he is not satisfied with just ‘getting there’ himself – he wants to take others along with him.
For five years he worked as a shop assistant in a Chinese store in the city, but in 2002 his working life took an unexpected turn. “When the World Vision project facilitator came to recruit people to attend a ‘Literacy and Awareness Trainer of Trainers’ course in June 2002, I volunteered to enrol,” says Sunivi. Some people ridiculed him, saying that adult literacy classes were beneath his status as a holder of a high school certificate. However, Sunivi endured their taunts and completed the intensive two-week trainers’ course. Sunivi was one of six people who passed the course, five of whom have put their training to immediate use in the community, either as pre-school teachers or adult literacy tutors. The class Sunivi ran last year was divided into two groups, one for illiterate people and the other for those who already had some reading and writing ability. The second group learnt mainly about social issues such as gambling, family violence and alcohol addiction. Three from the class of forty dropped out when they got jobs, but the rest graduated from their course and can commence the course’s next stage, arithmetic, if they wish. “The criticism that some community members were hurling at me has since ceased because they have seen change in the lives of the participants.” Asked for an example, Sunivi describes the dramatic change in one woman’s life. “She was a real rogue. She had two children but would go around gambling, drinking and hanging out with younger men on the streets. She would fight with her husband and never listened to anyone’s advice. She smoked marijuana and chewed betel nut a lot. After she enrolled in the classes her life changed. Now she is settled down with her husband and children. Sunivi says his students were committed to him because he was committed to his work. His commitment will not make him rich. Like the other tutors, he earns less than $NZ15 for three half days per week. He no longer works at the Chinese shop, choosing to instead concentrate on his tutoring activities. However, his efforts have not gone unnoticed. World Vision has selected Sunivi and one of the pre-school teachers to attend a part-time language diploma course at the University of PNG. And who knows where that will take him? |
|
VADAVADA STORY ARCHIVE 2005 Snippets 2004 Diploma for Dennis Village court Snippets Showing his mettle No looking back Project extends 2003 Young man of vision Snippets Perseverance pays off Illiterate dad goes to school Families grow better life Former drifter builds business AIDS risk
Port Moresby: Snippets
Chitalmari: Reaching out Kaliganj: Turning point Laudob: Tailor-made Sariakandi: No bride price Tarash: Extra tuition brings top results Cambodia show on map Koh Andaet: Savings scheme Oudong: Making water safe Samrong Tong: Better sanitation means better health Stong: Welcome to Stong Honduras show on map Concepcion: Changing for the better Nueva Vision: Mobilising youth Valle: Farewell to Valle India show on map Banswara: Snippets Dahod: A man with a vision Dumaria: Snippets Gajapati: Snippets Girideep: Good news from India Mayurbhanj: Snippets Mumbai West: Working woman Ratlam: Snippets Malawi show on map Blantyre Urban: Charity and Aisha Chata: Plenty to smile about Mikolongwe: Trying it out Mali show on map Koro: In their own words Togogana: Welcome to Togogana Yangasso: Time in the garden Myanmar show on map Myeik: Snippets Nicaragua show on map Aguas Azules: At the helm Tlilican: School gets new lease of life Niger show on map Chadakori: Welcome to Chadakori Goulbi N'Kaba: Successes Rwanda show on map Kabuga: Welcome to Kabuga Tubehoneza: Building a better world for children Tanzania show on map Budekwa: Snippets Bugabo: Clinic has water at last! Bukene: Snippets Dakama: Conserving the future Ibuga: Snippets Ibwera: Snippets Iselamagazi: Good News from Iselamagazi Magugu: Snippets Nkoma: Snippets Nshamba: Snippets Uganda show on map Buyamba: Taking care of your own Ngogwe: Welcome to Ngogwe Pakwach: Farewell to Puvona Panyimur: Snippets Rakai-Kooki: Cool school Vanuatu show on map Tafea: Snippets Zambia show on map Mporokoso: Community leader Nakonde: Good news from Nakonde Siachitema: Time to know the truth |
