Training Centre dedication

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One of the exciting developments in Ukarumpa over the last few years has been the building of the Training Centre. Ukarumpa has always been a gathering place for training. People from all over the country come here for classes in literacy, linguistics, translation, and other areas. As the buildings of the Training Centre have been completed, we have really excellent facilities available for our courses. The first buildings finished were the classrooms building and the men's dorm. Recently the dining hall and women's dorm were completed. Last weekend we hosted a dedication ceremony at the Training Centre for the dining hall and women's dorm. The ceremony was timed to coincide with a visit from representatives of the PNG Sustainable Development Program, which funds projects especially that reach out to Papua New Guinean women. Their support paid for a considerable part of the expenses for the women's dorm. A highlight of the day for me was hearing from two women who are in the courses currently being taught at the Training Centre (I'll write more next week about the courses that are on this month). One of the women, a student in a literacy and leadership course, is in World Vision, and she spoke of how valuable her training here has been. She is able to leave her home for the weeks of the class because of the facility we have for hosting students. The other student who spoke is in the Hebrew 1 class. She is a translator working on the Old Testament, and she too said how grateful she is for the opportunity to come and learn with fellow students.

Here are some pictures from the day. I'm sure you'll be hearing about and seeing more pictures of the Training Centre as I continue writing about the work in Ukarumpa and PNG.
This is part of the construction crew that built the Training Centre
Students in the Literacy, Leadership, Education and Development (LLEAD) course presenting a skit and song. Behind them is the dining hall.
Students and staff from the Hebrew 1 course, singing a song (in Hebrew!).
I actually wasn't scheduled to give a speech at this event, but the Academic Training Coordinator became ill the night before, so I stepped in for him and shared briefly about what the women's dorm and dining hall allow us to do for training in Ukarumpa.



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