INSIGHT Volume 3, Issue No 1 Circulation Date: 15th April 2015

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1 Network of Callan Services For Persons with Disabilities in Papua New Guinea INSIGHT Volume 3, Issue No 1 Circulation Date: 15th April 2015 Editorial Toksave Hearing Challenges Inclusive Education chal- lenges Hearing project interna- tional award Silver Jubilee Celebration Photo Hub Edi ng, Layout and Design: Callan Services for Persons with Disabili es Na onal Unit (CSNU) Produc on: CSNU Circula on: Volume 3, Issue 1 Children under the age group of 6 years playing in a school ground. A bush material building is synonymous of many elementary and early childhood schools in Papua New Guinea. Some of these children experience different disabilities and are included with children who do not have disabilities in Callan Services Special Education Resource Centres Respect, Presence, Compassion, Justice Callan Services National Unit Phone Number: P O Box 706 Fax: Wewak csnuadmin@global.net.pg/director-callanservces@edmundrice.org East Sepik Province Supported by funds from: Christian Brothers Oceania Province, Edmund Rice Foundation Australia, Australian Government, CBM-NZAid, DKA Austria, Light for the World, Government of PNG

2 INSIGHT is the Network of Callan Services for Persons with Disabilities quarterly newsletter. The newsletter aims to inspire, share and advocate on behalf of the special education resource centres in Papua New Guinea about the roles they play to improve the lives of children and persons living with disabilities. At Callan Services for Persons with Disabilities National Unit, our role is about advocating and working with special education resource centres, government and non government organisations, funding partners, churches and community based organisations to foster a long term sustainability program in inclusive education and community based rehabilitation services for children and persons with disabilities. At Callan we carry out business in the footsteps of Blessed Edmund Rice, who is the founder of Christian Brothers following the gospel of Jesus. Forward all your support and enquiries to KPRyan@edmundric e.org for further information regarding Callan Services for Persons with Disabil- The Network of Callan Services within Hello and welcome back sponsors, partners and readers of this Insight circula on no. 1 of This me around I know people are expec ng to hear more about what is happening in the Network of Callan Services for Persons with Disabili es in Papua New Guinea. If you are a follower of Insight you will find that most of our coverage is mainly focused on services that are conducted by Special Educa on Resource Centers (SERC) who are the frontline service providers within the Network. And I believe many you wonder why the name SERC s and what are they. However I am not going to try to explain things here. What I propose to do is to give you some insight into what the Network is since we now iden fy ourselves as the Network of Callan Services for Persons with Disabili es more than a SERC, or an ins tute of some sort. In 2014 all members of the so called Callan Services for Persons with Disabili es came together in a conference and named our services as the Network of Callan Services for Persons with Disabili es across Papua New Guinea. The Network is comprised of 19 Special Educa on Resource Centers who are located in 17 provinces of PNG, a Na onal Training Ins tute that has a similar status as a teachers college in PNG and Callan Services Na onal Unit (CSNU), independently operated by the Congrega on of Chris an Brothers of PNG Inc which focuses mainly on financial management, funding, training of SERC officers in community based rehabilita on (CBR), monitoring and evalua on, advocacy and sustainability with the government of PNG, funding partners and church organiza ons. These agencies play different roles and responsibili es but are aimed at some outcomes or targets which the Network calls the Results Diagram and Service Delivery Model. In a more structured manner, a strategic plan. So the Network is a group of persons, ins tu ons, agencies working together for a common good. The common good, I think is Presence, Respect, Compassion and Jus- ce as the coiners of Edmund Rice charism would have imagined it. It is my an cipa on that as you read these stories you will be engaged in some real feelings of being present with the world, trus ng that presence, jus ce, compassion and respect is clearly present in the body of our services reaching people in many loca ons across PNG and the world at large. Happy reading Patrick Hikins Editorial TOKSAVEs FROM CSNU The Annual conference of the Network of Callan Services will take place from the 10th 14th of May at Emmaus Retreat Center, Port Moresby. This year s annual conference also will celebrate the 25 years of services for the Network. Minister for Educa on, Hon Nick Kuman will be the guest of honor during the silver jubilee celebra ons for the Network of Callan Services. All SERC leaders are asked to bring a gi from your local area to mark the day. Cecilia Bagore and Mevlyn Kawage are now staff members of the Callan Studies Na onal Ins tute (CSNI) based in Wewak. They are no longer sta oned at Goroka Mt Sion SERC. Br Desmond William Toboeya is now a staff member of the Callan Na onal Training Services. He will work with Peter Sindu as an M and E officer. Desmond le Ghana in Africa a er a 2 years novi ate and is now a Chris an brother. Brother Desmond, Welcome. Callan Services Na onal Unit (CSNU) and Callan Studies Na onal Ins tute (CSNI) have sent a quarterly visi ng planner to all SERCs. All SERC coordinators are asked to print one for your staff members and to provide communica on to visi ng officers from CSNU and CSNI. Volume 2, Issue 4 Page 2

3 News from Resource Centers What ma ers in the hearing world Ear Care Day raises awareness and promotes ear and hearing care across the world. Papua New Guinea, a socially, economically and geographically fragmented country records social indicators which are among the lowest in the Pacific. A large majority of its popula on is under 15 years old. According to es mates 67 % of Papua New Guineas children have hearing problems and up to 48 % have hearing loss. Picture: Gloria Hugh, an ear and eye nurse at Wewak SERC conduc ng an ear check with a child with hearing impairment Meet April, a 9 year old hearing impaired girl from Wewak in PNG's East Sepik Province. Chronic o s media - largely preventable and treatable through medical and surgical approaches - le her with no ear drums bilaterally. She is one of the 32 million children under 15 of age in the world who suffer from a hearing impairment. Over 90 % of the burden of chronic ear infec ons is borne by countries in the South-East Asia, Western Pacific and African regions. That adds up to 360 million people worldwide with hearing loss, 80 % of whom live in low and middle income countries. LIGHT FOR THE WORLD is well-known for our efforts in the field of eye health but few know that we are also involved in ear care programmes. In our partner country of Papua New Guinea where hearing impairment affects a majority of the popula on, we are working with local partners Callan Services to provide medical care and educa on to the deaf and hard of hearing. In developing countries, children with hearing loss and deafness rarely receive any schooling. Through our interven on, this is luckily not the case with April. As early detec on and interven on is the most important factor in minimizing the impact of hearing loss on a child s development and educa onal achievements, April was successfully included in the inclusive early interven on unit of Callan Wewak, where she gets prepared for formal schooling. The Na onal Hearing Project in Papua New Guinea, supported by LIGHT FOR THE WORLD, tackles the marginaliza on and exclusion of children and youth with hearing impairment all over the country, reaching more than 100,000 children, young people and adults in 19 regions. April, like her peers at Callan Wewak, is not going to lose out on educa on. If you would like more informa on about this news contact Michael Lulu on this address: michael.lulu@gmail.com or mobile Contact Michael (details above) or Brother Kevin Ryan (director-callanservices@edmundrice.org) Volume 2, Issue 3 Page 3

4 News from Resource Centers Educa ng children with disabili es both in learning and intellectual disability, especially children with disabili es among other children in classrooms se ngs can be a real challenge Callan Studies Na onal Ins tute, some mes known as CSNI has as its focus the training of special educa on resource center staff members and mainstream teachers about the skills, knowledge and aktudes necessary to teach children with disabili es. Over many years the Ins tute has assisted many teachers who come as associates and teachers from mainstream schools to graduate with cer ficate, diplomas and degrees in special educa on. At this juncture, CSNI is established in three main regions of PNG. They are New Guinea Islands in Rabaul, the Highlands in Hagen and Goroka and Momase in Wewak, East Sepik. Lecturers employed in CSNI hold teaching posi ons and are paid by the Teachers Service Commission, Na onal Department of Educa on. A fortnight ago lecturers from Rabaul in the New Guinea Islands region carried out a training for teaching methods, strategies for children with disabili es to equip students and teachers. The core outcome of the training was to show evidence-based teaching methods in strategy instruc on, direct instruc on, peer tutoring, chaining and scaffolding and hence, to apply these methods to teach specific skills to children with disabili es. Helping teachers to gain an understanding of how to improve reading in low-achieving students and to plan and implement a peer tutoring program and create lessons with differen ated situa ons were on high priori es. The training in learning disabili es ini ally started in 2014 and will run for 2 years before par cipants graduate with an Applied Diploma in Special Educa on. Teachers who graduate with the diploma are skilled to deal with children with learning disabili es and intellectual disabili es. Par cipants teachers who took part in a training for teaching children with disabili es pose for a group photo. Par cipants from the Applied Diploma in Special Educa on, a program which is taught by Callan Studies Ins tute staff members are explaining the learning strategy (RAP) to their If you want informa on about this story, please contact Everlyn Mosanga on mobile: or everlynmosanga@gmail.com Volume 2, Issue 4 Page 4

5 News from Resource Centers Hearing Project gets World A en on, an achievement story of the Light for the World Project run by Callan Services for Persons with Disabili es in Papua New Guinea The First ever World Congress on Ear and Hearing Care took place from 12 to 14 February in New Delhi, India. This interna onal gathering has been organized by Sound Hearing 2030 under the sponsorship of the of Society for Sound Hearing in collabora on with CBM. Sabine Rehbichler (LIGHT FOR THE WORLD) together with Michael Lulu (Callan Services Na onal Unit) took this opportunity to officially report on Na onal Hearing Educa on and Health Project in Papua New Guinea, with Michael and Sabine receiving an award for best paper and presenta on. Our PNG programme tackles the marginaliza on and exclusion of children and youths with hearing impairments in 19 regions of the country, where child deafness, o en as a consequence of malaria, is widespread. Approximately 67% of children have hearing problems, in some areas up to 48% (!) suffer from hearing loss. The government's Special Educa on Department in coopera on with the Ministry of Health of Papua New Guinea established a unique network of Special Educa on Resource Centres (SERCs) and regional clinics all in some parts of the country to support the educa on, medical support, inclusion and empowerment of children and youth with hearing impairment. The local organisa on Callan Services for Persons with Disabili es Na onal Unit in Papua New Guinea An agency of the Congrega on of Chris an Brothers, supported by LIGHT FOR THE WORLD, is major partner to the government to run these centres. A lot has been achieved in the awareness and preven on of ear infec on and hearing impairment in local schools and communi es. Support services such as ear screenings, referrals to further health care and sign language classes were already provided to more than 100,000 children. Awareness raising Picture: Michael Lulu, coordinator of the Hearing Project for Callan Services for Persons with Disabili es awarded a trophy for outstanding presenta on and paper during the Interna onal Hearing Conference in New Delhi, India. informa on about hearing impairment is now widespread in the community. Many children iden fied through the screening programs have been prevented from dropping out of school, either through treatment to heal ear infec ons or other hearing difficul- es or by being assisted with their educa onal needs. In addi on, the project promotes and spreads a na onal sign language, provides training and strengthens deaf culture in Papua New Guinea. Picture: Deaf Unit at Monfort Primary School, Kiunga Special Educa on Resource Center Volume 2, Issue 4 For more informa on about this story and presenta on, please contact Michael Lulu, michael.lulu@gmail.com mobile: Page 5

6 News from Resource Centers Annual Conference of the Network of Callan Services for Persons with Disabilities commemorating 25 years of services in respect, presence, compassion and justice This is a special announcement to all the 19 Special Education Resource Centers (SERC) that this year s 2015 Annual Conference of the Network of Callan Services will be highly important because it is also the silver jubilee for the Network. All agencies, SERCs are asked to bring some gifts from your local areas. Minister for Education, Hon Nick Kuman will be the Guest of Honor and along with him will be the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Religion, Hon Delilah Gore, and Minister for Health, Hon Michael Malabag. Secretaries for the National Department of Education, Community Development, Youth and Religion and Health have also been invited to attend the conference. So in the context of the Network, this is going to be an important week for all of us. Some board chairs will be invited to attend as well as other members of the PNGADP and NBDP along with Brother Greame Leach, Luke Quinn, Sister Margret Endicott and Bill Sultman. Rhonda Clement from NDRAC and Robert Banasi will be also invited. The conference begins on Monday 11 and inishes on Friday 15. Thursday 14 will be the silver jubilee celebration day. It is anticipated that the program will start at 10am and inishes at 1pm in the afternoon with light refreshment. For more information regarding this conference and silver jubilee celebrations, call Patrick Hikins on , or brucehikins@gmail.com Volume 2, Issue 4 Page 6

7 Par cipants from the Applied Diploma in Special Educa on a program which is run by Callan Studies Ins tute staff members are explaining the learning strategy (RAP) to their children during prac cum session at Kabaleo Demonstra on school, Rabaul, East New Britain A Special Educa on Resource Center staff member showing the children the different parts of the ear Persons with disabili es who receive services at Kiunga SERC amend the Easter celebra on together with staff members in a joint program organized by staff members of Kiunga SERC A Wewak SERC staff member demonstra ng different PNG sign language to students in a classroom. Staff member demonstra ng is Ms Alice Junias, Deaf Educa on Resource teacher at Wewak SERC, St Benedicts Teachers College, East Sepik Province Children from Kabaleo Demonstra on school are modelling the Learning strategy (RAP) learning taught to them by staff members of the Callan Studies Na onal Ins tute at Kokopo, Rabaul, East New Britain Province. This relates to Learning and Intellectual Disabili es Par cipants who took part in a training for teaching children with learning and intellectual disabili es pose for a group photo. Volume 2, Issue Page 7