August 11 2025. Closing Photo, Read Aloud Holei Roo
In October 2022, the Onomi Imea Library opened at the Holei Roo Orphanage. It’s a minimalist space on the terrace and in the narrow dirt yard. We read stories, discuss things, and play happily without fear. There’s hope for the future, knowing we’re in a safe place with people who care.
Due to limited access, financial constraints, family issues, and conflict in their villages, children are unable to attend preschool or even secondary school. In Holei Roo, the Onomi Imea Library offers 1-3 hour sessions, three times a week for children aged 3-7 and even 8-12 who haven’t yet learned to read. From 2022 to 2025, 33 children who have been studying at the library every day since they were 3 years old have enrolled in elementary school. They are very happy to wear their elementary school uniforms and enjoy their days at the new school. When I met with them, they took turns enthusiastically sharing stories about their activities and what they are learning at the new school.
What comes to my mind is that everyone is born with unique abilities, but material limitations, little support from those around them and poverty prevent children from being creative and growing. The Onomi Imea Library isn’t perfect, but it’s a first step in nurturing hope for the future of some Papuan children who haven’t yet enjoyed what they deserve.
Here is an agenda for a Power of Goodness session at Holei Roo:
Welcome
Stop
Light & Lively
Opening
Peaceful Living Agreement
Read Aloud /The Power of Goodness Story
Discussion
Activities related to the theme/story/literacy
Recall
Closing, Prayer, and Sleep
Some children’s reflections:
“When I was in the village, I had to go out of the forest because of the sound of guns, and couldn’t go to school.
Now I can study safely.”
“I can recognize letters, numbers, and write my own name when studying in the library,” said Petrus, a 5th-grader.7-year-old Iral said, “I used to see my older siblings going to school, and I thought, ‘Can I go to school too?’ Now that thought has become a reality. I like playing with Lego and listening to stories in the library. We pray every time we receive a new book or toy as an expression of our gratitude to God for bringing good people who support us from various parts of the world.”
Stopping Holei Roo Library, 20 August 2025