Happy to Read and Write

“S-A-K-S-A-K” A brown hand carefully points to each letter as the woman before me sounds out each letter. 

“Saksak!” * She says, looking up at me triumphantly.

Huge smiles spread across our faces as we celebrate another word that she has conquered.  Our heads nearly touch as she wrestles with another word and steadily works her way through the sentence. Soon she reads me the whole sentence and we both feel the thrill of how much she has accomplished.

I bend once more to show another woman how to form the new letter she is learning today. She grips her pencil in concentration and slowly traces the new krai (sound) on her paper. Soon she is confidently writing the words the instructor is dictating for practice at home.

I laugh with the man sitting next to me as he raises his hand to declare that he has four words in a row in the Bingo reading game. It brings me such joy to see how happy he is that he can read the words he has on his card.

Since I’ve been back in Papua New Guinea (PNG) I’ve had the amazing privilege of being a helper in an adult literacy class where adults have come to learn how to read and write in Tok Pisin (the trade language of PNG).  It is so exciting to see these hard working adults take 4 hours out of their week to come to class and learn. They work hard in their gardens and in their villages and at other jobs all day, every day, but they are determined to put aside time to set their minds to learning to read and write for the first time. They inspire me as they push through their frustrations and challenges and bravely stand up to read in front of the class or share a story they’ve written. They are amazing.  They may think I’m teaching them, but really, they are teaching me. They are teaching me humility, perseverance, gentleness, and teachability to name just a few things. They are incredible and I feel so honored to be part of helping them to do what they have dreamed of doing for so many years. I look forward to the day they graduate and confidently read from their very own Tok Pisin Bible or a Bible in their mother tongue. What a privilege to be a part of their journey!

*Saksak is the Tok Pisin word for Sago Palm, which is a common food here in Papua New Guinea.