We served in Papua New Guinea for 14 years, both as support workers and as advisors to national translators. When not in the village, we lived at Ukarumpa, our linguistic center. With over 800 languages in PNG, there is lots of work to be done and the facilities at Ukarumpa help us to accomplish our goal. We are currently working in 260 languages so with translators and support staff, there is a lot going on at Ukarumpa! As translators, it was wonderful to have the linguistic and translation support needed to translate the Bible but the support services were also necessary and such a blessing to us.
Ukarumpa 444 is a great video that portrays what it's like to live at Ukarumpa.
LCORE (Language, Collaboration, Opportunities, Resources, Encouragement)
offers support in our language/translation work. We have consultants for translation, grammar, phonology, anthropology, Literacy and Scripture Use. Other areas include Language Survey and Ethnomusicology.
The Clinic staff not only met our physical needs but serves the local people too. What a blessing to have them there when my husband, Morris, came home from the village with a splinter in his eye or the times in the village when we were sick and we could call up the doctor on the radio to ask advice for illnesses or sores. There's even a dental clinic too! I don't know what we would have done without the clinic!
Also, there is a mobile clinic that travels each month to twelve village areas to give immunisations and infant care. Working together, the clinic staff is a multi-national team consisting of Papua New Guineans and missionaries from around the world.
Even some clothes and fabric!
Where else can you buy delicious, fresh vegetables at a local market 3 mornings a week. However, you have to get up early because it's only open from 6-8am. It's a great way to start off your day!
Ukarumpa International School is based at Ukarumpa. We raised 3 kids there and as a parent, I'd have to say the schools are a huge blessing! My kids were taught by teachers who felt called to by there so our kids were their ministry! When we went to the village when my kids were in primary school, the teachers put together all their books, told me what to teach each day to keep up with their class and then came up on the radio each week to talk to all the village kids to discuss what was happening in the class room and answer any questions. I didn't to plan everything for homeschooling and my kids were able to fit right back in to their classroom when we returned from the village!
The High School is also on center and the 7th.-12th. graders can come home everyday for lunch! There's also sports, choir and band offered as well as an annual drama productions. There always seems to be something going on for teens and the Teen Center is a great place to hang out on Friday and Saturday nights.
Staffing needs at Ukarumpa International School
There are Children's Homes for teens to stay in when their parents are in the village so they can attend school. We were Children Home parents for our last 3 years there and loved it! The five hostels currently running in Ukarumpa include
not only SIL teens, but also include children from other missions who also attend our international school. While ideally these hostels are staffed by families who have come specifically to serve in this role, at times they have had to ask translator families to put their own language program on hold to fulfil this function for a time. Would you consider serving in this vital role?
The Print Shop enabled us to have primers, books of the Bible, and our newsletter printed.
The Construction Department was instrumental in helping us build our village house. We couldn't have done it without their expert help!
Here the men are at work building a classroom for the Primary School.
Papua New Guinea is the most linguistically diverse country in the world and has around 830 languages. An island nation north of Australia, PNG's geography creates isolation for languages groups. This is a significant challenge both for the groups themselves and for the language teams serving them. There have been 175 New Testaments completed since work began there in 1956. Another 260 translations are currently in process. People from 18 sending countries and staff of the Papua New Guinea Bible Translation Association are working on these translations.
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| All photos by Craig Campbell |
LCORE (Language, Collaboration, Opportunities, Resources, Encouragement)
offers support in our language/translation work. We have consultants for translation, grammar, phonology, anthropology, Literacy and Scripture Use. Other areas include Language Survey and Ethnomusicology.
The Auto Shop maintained our truck so we could drive to our village allocation.
Aviation is needed in a country that is mountainous with few roads. Bible translation would be very difficult or next to impossible for many locations in PNG. Planes not only deliver translators to their allocations but also bring needed supplies, mail and a friendly visit from our skilled pilots! Click here to see what it's like to land at Ukarumpa. And here's an aerial tour of Ukarumpa.
The Clinic staff not only met our physical needs but serves the local people too. What a blessing to have them there when my husband, Morris, came home from the village with a splinter in his eye or the times in the village when we were sick and we could call up the doctor on the radio to ask advice for illnesses or sores. There's even a dental clinic too! I don't know what we would have done without the clinic!
Also, there is a mobile clinic that travels each month to twelve village areas to give immunisations and infant care. Working together, the clinic staff is a multi-national team consisting of Papua New Guineans and missionaries from around the world.
The Store is like a country store where you'll find almost anything you "need". It's also a great place to meet friends and have a quick visit!
Even some clothes and fabric!
Where else can you buy delicious, fresh vegetables at a local market 3 mornings a week. However, you have to get up early because it's only open from 6-8am. It's a great way to start off your day!
The High School is also on center and the 7th.-12th. graders can come home everyday for lunch! There's also sports, choir and band offered as well as an annual drama productions. There always seems to be something going on for teens and the Teen Center is a great place to hang out on Friday and Saturday nights.
Staffing needs at Ukarumpa International School
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| Teen Manor |
There are Children's Homes for teens to stay in when their parents are in the village so they can attend school. We were Children Home parents for our last 3 years there and loved it! The five hostels currently running in Ukarumpa include
not only SIL teens, but also include children from other missions who also attend our international school. While ideally these hostels are staffed by families who have come specifically to serve in this role, at times they have had to ask translator families to put their own language program on hold to fulfil this function for a time. Would you consider serving in this vital role?
The Print Shop enabled us to have primers, books of the Bible, and our newsletter printed.
The Construction Department was instrumental in helping us build our village house. We couldn't have done it without their expert help!
Here the men are at work building a classroom for the Primary School.
Papua New Guinea is the most linguistically diverse country in the world and has around 830 languages. An island nation north of Australia, PNG's geography creates isolation for languages groups. This is a significant challenge both for the groups themselves and for the language teams serving them. There have been 175 New Testaments completed since work began there in 1956. Another 260 translations are currently in process. People from 18 sending countries and staff of the Papua New Guinea Bible Translation Association are working on these translations.
CAPITAL CITY: Port Moresby
POPULATION: 6,732,000 (2009 estimate)
OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: English, Motu, and Pidgin
CURRENCY: Kina and Toea (1 kina = 100 toea)
AREA: 461,693 sq. km. (178,260 sq. mi.) 19 Provinces
LIFE EXPECTANCY: Male 52.6 years, Female 54.2 years
RELIGION: Heavily mission-ized but some nominally Christian, continuing influence of animism/ancestor worship, cargo cults.
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