We are so looking forward to the team representing Hohidiai School coming to the U.S. This will be such a blessing if they can get their visas approved. Hendra Pontomudis, the principle of Hohidiai School, has done the extensive on line applications for six people. It is a lot of work and costly to process all the travel and applications. The time is getting short as we want them to come to L.A. first, then Idaho and finally to Alaska. We have...

We are thrilled that over 170 students are now receiving high quality education at Hohidiai School. Our students won first, second, and fifth place in an English reading competition. Well done! Our top grade level this year is Year 7, and we’ll add Year 8 next term. Recently, two brothers began to attend our school. Their blind father asked us to take them in, but instead we offered his wife work and enrolled the children in our school so...

By Hendra Pontomudis, Principle of Hohidiai School —  After the conflict in Maluku ended in 2001,  we established a permanent medical presence here in Halmahera. Over 60 children have come into our care through that work. We take into care only the neediest cases. There are other underprivileged children that we support in their families and in their villages in various ways such as their education, food supplements for the malnourished,...

  You should have seen Hendrik’s face when he saw his new shoes. His was so excited to try on the new shoes for which he had waited. These shoes were fitted for him months earlier when he placed his feet into a foam box to make a perfect impression. As a leper, Hendrik’s toes are gone and his left foot does not move. It is “frozen” in a slight upward angle. No off-the-shelf shoe fits him. These were specially made just to fit...

The dream of a future is a wall for the poor in remote corners of the world. It is a dream for the future that we want the children in our care to reach for. The offer of an education and a dream are inseparable twins. I just returned from a visit to our base in Indonesia. It another awesome trip with a small team from Alaska. There were many things we say and experienced, but I will not forget the times I spent doing the after school homework...

I have been to the Hohidiai base on the island of Halmahera many times. The base has changed from 75 acres of jungle to the life changing station with three children’s homes, a clinic, hospital, leper rehabilitation, HIV/AIDS residential treatment, T.B. patient housing, food services and children everywhere. It is a place that brings hope for those who come asking for help. The message of hope is clear–no one is turned away. The...

Standing in the frigid wind on Thompson Pass at sunset was a spectacular site. Hendra Pontomudis, principal of Hohidiai School and Danny Galbraith, a volunteer teacher at the school, could only marvel at the breathtaking beauty before them. They had just left an amazing group of people in the coastal Alaskan hamlet of Valdez. Valdez is known for the rich history of being a staging area for the early gold prospectors and today it is the terminus...

You would never know the pain he has experienced if you saw his big broad smile. Tison was only 8 when he was showered with kerosene in an accident in his home on a remote island in Indonesia. His burns were extensive and covered both legs, both feet, torso, arms, neck, chin, ears and the right hand. He had limited undamaged skin to use for grafts. When he was 11 years old he came to Fairbanks, Alaska. An amazing group of medical professionals...

A road is a pathway to a destination. Some roads are better than others. Roads can begin as a simple walking path. Roads definitely make progress much easier.  Well, a new road has been built to access the new school property.  The road replaces the old path that was just a meandering and rutted trail around coconut trees. There is now a good access to the school property. It does remind me of the pathway to a good education. We are determined...

She is eight years old but knows what she wants to be. Lilly (not her real name) has a dream to become the first Indonesian astronaut. Lilly is an exceptionally bright girl. She would be close to genius and is an academic wiz.  She continues to amaze people by her aptitude and awareness of the world around her. Lilly was abandoned by her mother and father  and left at the Hohidiiai base. She has a very warm personality and does stand out in the...