PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

 

A VERY SPECIAL TEACHER

 

Caption 1: Ms Javie James is hearing impaired with some speech and is a primary school teacher teaching at the Avani Primary school in Kafentina LLG Ward 3 in Henganofi.

Caption 2: (from left to right) Avani Primary School Board Chairman Edward Taboro, Javie James, and Mt Sion staff at the National Disability Day last Friday in Henganofi district Eastern Highlands Province.

Caption 3: Ms Javie James conducting her students at the Avani Primary school last Friday.

4: Mt Sion staff, Ms Javie James (center) and Avani Primary school head Mistress Mrs Augustine.

5: Ms Javie James class doing a presentation during the National Disability Day last Friday in Henganofi district Eastern Highlands Province.

By VICKY BAUNKE of PNG Post-Courier

MISS JAVIE James from Sokei village in the Eastern Highlands Province is the first Papua New Guinean recognised as a qualified teacher with speech and hearing impediments.

But these physical disabilities are nothing to the 29 year old, who teaches Year 6 students at the Avani Primary school in Henganofi district.

Added to her amazing story is that her class has three students who are deaf.

Ms James started her school at the Mt Sion inclusion education resource centre in Goroka where she completed her elementary school education.

Mt Sion is a centre that enrolls children with special needs and disabilities in Eastern Highlands, and also from other parts of the highlands region.

After completing grade two in 2000, Javie continued to do her primary school education at the Faniufa Sacred Heart Catholic Agency School where she completed grade eight.

Javie then secured a place at the Goroka Secondary School where she did grades nine to 10 in 2008 -2009.

"After I was not given a place to complete my grade 11, Mt Sion called me in to assist in conducting interpretation (sign language) classes at the school,” Ms James said.

"I went on to complete my education through matriculation at the FODE centre from 2011 to 2013 and applied to the Mt Hagen Holy Trinity Teacher's Colleague and was accepted for studies there the following year (2014).”

Having spent most of her education and life in Goroka, Javie said it was a challenge at first to adapt to the new environment in Mt Hagen, but everyone developed interest in her which gave her the opportunity to make a lot of friends.

Javie is a very friendly person who loves children and has a big heart to encourage children with special needs to go to school and be educated.

“Sign language is the fourth language in the country and I have learnt how to communicate in sign language with teachers and other students and this has made learning easy for me,”  Javie stressed.

"I wanted to become a teacher so that I can teach children with certain disabilities like me can have an education, a career and be self-reliant,” Javie said.

"Many times parents are ashamed to bring their child with disabilities to school because of social and traditional systems that discourages parents.”

She described that during her teaching practices, she went out into ‘bush schools’ (rural) in Mt Hagen where she found it very interesting as the students were keen to learn from her.

She said this also gave her the opportunity to make awareness to parents and communities to bring their children with disabilities to school as it was also their right to be educated.

"Parents should not be ashamed or discouraged of their child's disabilities because who will take care of them when parents are no longer around,” she said.

"They will have to make a living for themselves and parents should provide them with the opportunity to be educated.”

Javie graduated in 2016 at the Holy trinity teachers college and like any other tertiary school graduate had to secure a job.

After she returned to Eastern Highlands she found out that there were (3) deaf students attending the Avani primary school and the school needed a teacher so she applied to the school and started teaching in 2017.

"When I met the students who where in grade six then, I found out that they had not understand many of the things taught in grades four and five so I advised their parents that the students do grades four and five again.

“Since then, I have taught the three students in a class along with other children and they are doing grade six this year,”

"I will continue to teach these children until they complete grade eight.”

She would like to thank the Mt Sion School for giving her the opportunity to achieve her dreams and a career.

She would also like to acknowledge the Henganofi MP Robert Atiyafa and Unggai Bena MP Benny Allan for funding her tertiary education, her parents and the good Lord for all the blessings in her life.

She strongly advocates parents to bring their child to school and give them the opportunity to learn and live a career.