“Mi igat bikpela bilip olsem sapos mi igat sans long pinisim skul bilong mi long bihain taim, mi bai kamap wanpela Lawyer man (I have this belief that if I have the opportunity to complete my education, later on in life I will become a Lawyer) ,” said Lazarus Kepak.
18 year old Lazarus from Yokor Village in Wabag District, Enga Province was born with low vision, which is an inability to see clearly.
He never attended any formal education in his entire life until 2 years ago when he registered at the Special Education Resource Centre (SERC) under Callan Service National Unit (CSNU) in Enga Province.
The Special Education Resource Centre supports children and yo
uths to live a normal life just like any normal citizen and sustain their livelihood through school, sports, health and livelihood programs.
It is understood that once people living with disabilities successfully attend a SERC they are then guided and integrated into the mainstream education.
The SERC also conducts awareness and trainings for Teachers in the mainstream education system on the integration of people with special needs.
Lazarus said he used to envy his brothers and friends in the village who attended formal education ever since he was a small boy and to have this opportunity is a great stepping stone in his life.
Lazarus says he can now tell the difference between numbers from 0 to 100 and letters of the Alphabet from A to Z.
“Mi laik toktok hamamas long ol tisa bilong mi long SERC long gutpela wok ol imekim long halivim ol kain lain olsem mi yet long kisim save (I want to say thankyou to the SERC Teachers for the great work they do in helping people like me to gain education),” he said.
This is the same story for 19 year old Koronis Yapis from Sangurap Village in Wabag District.
He too was born with low vision and never attended any formal education until 3 years ago when he registered with SERC.
He says he is very happy to be learning and if all goes well he would like to be integrated into the mainstream education system.
According to the Program Coordinator, Paul Ira, the SERC in Enga has 523 registered clients with 15 different activities under the Inclusive Education and Community Based Rehabilitation Program which includes Community Awareness, Teacher Awareness and Disability Sports amongst others.
“Many parents of our clients did not know that there was a special school for people living with disabilities, however after the centre opened and with the continuous awareness, more parents have brought in their children to be registered,” he said.
He said since the establishment of the centre there has been a positive impact, however the main challenge is the accessibility to clients in remote areas in terms of transportation and the need for a regular flow of assistive devices with the increasing number of clients who come in to register.
He said the assistive devices are sent to SERCs in each province and then distributed amongst the clients under a project partnership between the PNG Assembly of Disabled Persons, Motivation Australia and the Australian Government in collaboration with the Departments of Health and Community Development and Religion.
The SERC in Enga is one of 19 other SERCs in PNG under Callan Service National Unit funded by the Australian Government through the Strongim Pipol Strongim Nesen Program at a total cost of K1,399,317.
18 year old Lazarus from Yokor Village in Wabag District, Enga Province was born with low vision, which is an inability to see clearly.
He never attended any formal education in his entire life until 2 years ago when he registered at the Special Education Resource Centre (SERC) under Callan Service National Unit (CSNU) in Enga Province.
The Special Education Resource Centre supports children and yo
 |
| Koronis (L) and Lazarus (R) at SERC, Enga Province. |
It is understood that once people living with disabilities successfully attend a SERC they are then guided and integrated into the mainstream education.
The SERC also conducts awareness and trainings for Teachers in the mainstream education system on the integration of people with special needs.
Lazarus said he used to envy his brothers and friends in the village who attended formal education ever since he was a small boy and to have this opportunity is a great stepping stone in his life.
Lazarus says he can now tell the difference between numbers from 0 to 100 and letters of the Alphabet from A to Z.
“Mi laik toktok hamamas long ol tisa bilong mi long SERC long gutpela wok ol imekim long halivim ol kain lain olsem mi yet long kisim save (I want to say thankyou to the SERC Teachers for the great work they do in helping people like me to gain education),” he said.
This is the same story for 19 year old Koronis Yapis from Sangurap Village in Wabag District.
He too was born with low vision and never attended any formal education until 3 years ago when he registered with SERC.
He says he is very happy to be learning and if all goes well he would like to be integrated into the mainstream education system.
According to the Program Coordinator, Paul Ira, the SERC in Enga has 523 registered clients with 15 different activities under the Inclusive Education and Community Based Rehabilitation Program which includes Community Awareness, Teacher Awareness and Disability Sports amongst others.
“Many parents of our clients did not know that there was a special school for people living with disabilities, however after the centre opened and with the continuous awareness, more parents have brought in their children to be registered,” he said.
He said since the establishment of the centre there has been a positive impact, however the main challenge is the accessibility to clients in remote areas in terms of transportation and the need for a regular flow of assistive devices with the increasing number of clients who come in to register.
He said the assistive devices are sent to SERCs in each province and then distributed amongst the clients under a project partnership between the PNG Assembly of Disabled Persons, Motivation Australia and the Australian Government in collaboration with the Departments of Health and Community Development and Religion.
The SERC in Enga is one of 19 other SERCs in PNG under Callan Service National Unit funded by the Australian Government through the Strongim Pipol Strongim Nesen Program at a total cost of K1,399,317.
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