Do you remember the first book you read or your favorite book from elementary school? Are there illustrations or phrases that put you right back in your childhood bedroom, poring over a story by yourself for the first time?
But what if you’d never learned how to read? What if you’d never learned to write your name?
This is the reality for kids in many parts of the world. For many children and teens, education is out of reach. It’s too expensive for families living in extreme poverty. In some places and cultures, young girls must stay at home to care for siblings. Many of those girls rarely, if ever, have the opportunity to attend school. Other families simply don’t live near a school.
Sarce, a Christian woman in Sorong, Papua, is determined to bring change. This English tutor is reaching children in her area through the Salt and Light Community, an education-based evangelism ministry organization she started.
Sorong is one of the friendliest areas in Papua, a province in far eastern Indonesia. The diverse community is home to people of different backgrounds, faiths, and cultures who all live in harmony. Though many people claim to be Christian, their faith is nominal at best. Most put their faith in the spirits of their ancestors or in the universe for help in times of trouble or sickness.
“Most of the children have never heard the Good News–the news of Christ’s redemption for all mankind, including them,” says Daniel, a Bible League ministry coordinator in Indonesia.
Sarce saw a great need in her community. She saw the need for the Gospel. She also saw the need for education, something that few children, especially those in rural areas, ever receive. Often, parents are not concerned with this lack of learning.
“In this region, education is still often perceived as expensive or hard to access,” says Daniel. “In many parts of Papua, especially the rural ones, parents do not send their children to school. They are content when they can equip their children with the basic skills they need to survive as manual laborers.”