20 November 2008

Apia, Samoa: A UNV volunteer teacher in Samoa is using her professional skills and experience to voluntarily help special needs children in her own village.

Katie Su'a has been serving as a national UNV volunteer since February 2007 and works as an Inclusive Education Teacher for children with special needs at the SENESE Junior Preparatory School in Lotopa, Apia.  Her assignment comes under the UNV-funded Empowerment of Rural People Living with Disabilities (ERPD) project.

Ms. Su'a not only teaches children at SENESE; the skills she can offer as a national UNV volunteer allow her to help others outside of her regular work. “We have a deaf girl in my village. I can communicate with her, and help her parents become better at communicating with their daughter,” she explains.

Furthermore, as a UNV volunteer, Ms Su'a shares ideas and skills with her school colleagues, while working together with local communities and families with special needs children. She also cooperates with other Government schools where special needs children are enrolled.

Her regular school, SENESE, is a part of the Robert Louis Stevenson Primary School, which has an enrolment of 380 students. It aims to provide special needs children with quality educational programs, including literacy classes, in a regular school setting. Together with 10 other colleagues, Katie supports 55 students with special needs, 15 of whom require extensive assistance.

Katie Su'a is committed to volunteering and encourages others to take up volunteerism in their local communities. Her efforts are clearly geared towards achieving Millennium Development Goal 2: primary education for all. When asked why she wanted to be a volunteer herself, she replies: “I wanted to help, to teach, to share ideas and skills, to encourage and improve the skills of children with special needs, in order for them to have a better future.”

Making a difference to the futures of the children and teaching colleagues has been the best experience according to Ms. Su'a. However, there have been challenges. “The frustrating things could be when we did not have the equipment or resources needed for various activities,” she says.  

But Katie Su'a has no doubts about her advice to others who want to volunteer. “You have to work hard. You have to share your ideas and skills you know to help wherever you work. You have to be honest about your work,” she emphasizes.