The Raja Ampat Research and Conservation Centre (RARCC), which was born under Papua Diving and of which 10% of the company’s gross profit goes directly to our conservation projects, has been teaching elementary English to 17 of our Indonesian staff. These students are primarily our Papuan dive guides, boat captains and boats crews working for Papua Diving and also our kayak guides for Kayak4Conservation itself.
From the 5th of June, they have been attending classes two hours per day at our Sorido Bay Resort.
During their 3 weeks of training so far, they have been learning how to count, to introduce themselves, ask for and give directions and how to make basic conversational sentences in English. They have also been learning about nouns, adjectives, verbs and tenses. All of this is understandably essential for their jobs in assisting and communicating with our guests on their trips/excursions as well as in and around our resorts and facilities.
According to our resident English teacher Rombles Papato, who holds a Bachelor Degree in English Education from the Universitas Klabat, Indonesia, they are doing rather well and are “really happy and enthusiastic” in learning how to communicate better in English.
We have also been seeing them using their off time in the evenings to study, memorize and practice what they have learned each day as they personally seem to understand the importance of being able to communicate with the influx of foreign tourists now visiting Raja Ampat as well as the value and benefits of being provided with this free educational opportunity.
