Community Development Coordinator

Papua is the easternmost province in the vast archipelago of 15000 islands that make up Indonesia. As the second largest island on the planet, Papua boasts the largest gold mine and the second largest copper mine in the world and spectacular wildlife and natural beauty. But it is not only natural resources that make Papua rich, it is the welcoming and generous people, the rich cultural heritage, and more than 250 unique languages make it truly a paradise. Despite its natural wealth, Papua has traditionally lacked other critical resources. Basic infrastructure, modern health care, and education are woefully absent. Many Papuans feel marginalized. There are many needs in Papua.

The Papua Hope Language Institute works in the need of education. We are striving to develop students academically, spiritually, and culturally so that students can go and study in a post-secondary setting. Our vision is that students will return to Papua to become the next generation of leaders. We hope that Papua will one day have an incredible educational institution that will match the incredible natural and human resources that has made Papua the incredible land it has been for generations.

Papua Hope schools partner with local communities through (1) our leadership sequence for our Papuan students and (2) a new "Participatory Development" course available for visiting study abroad students from the US (summer 2023). Through the year-long leadership sequence, our Papuan students (recent high school graduates preparing for college in the US) work through various leadership topics including an "applied leadership" practicum, where students work directly with local communities on a variety of projects identified by the communities themselves. In the upcoming "Participatory Development" course, students from multiple US Christian Universities studying engineering, global development, education, business, theology, etc. will spend 10 weeks in Papua taking courses and participating in our campus life.

The Community Development Coordinator (CDC) will play an immersive role in both of these two above areas, working closely with Papuan instructors, our Papuan college-prep students, local communities, and visiting US universities students. In these projects the CDC will primarily perform a variety of administrative roles spanning monitoring, documentation, logistics support, etc. The CDC may also be asked to participate in the classroom, if needed, or even serve as an English-language practice partner or part-time tutor.