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,...

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...

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...

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...

I could see the new elementary school site near the city of Tobelo had a sight slope to it. Little did I know, it is way more detailed than that to have a site map. Jim, an engineer from Alaska, volunteered to complete a topographical survey of the six acre new Hohidiai school site. Remember this is tropical island with jungle. It has a beauty but is hot for Alaskan volunteers. The team worked with modern instruments–transits, tripods,...

Ten volunteers will be traveling to Indonesia this week. These are ten amazing people who have skills that they plan to use while serving at the Hohidiai School. The school is two years old and has around 50 children. It is taught a half day in English and a half day in Bahasa Indonesia. The children are being exposed to two languages and they are doing very well. The school is accredited and seeks a very high academic level. The Ten will leave...

Tison spent 18 months in America where he received reconstructive surgery for burns to his face, arms, right hand, both legs and feet. While he was in the U.S. he became very special to his host family who sent with me several gifts in a big, Green Bay Packers bag for him. I got to take it and give it to him.  He was so excited to get his gifts and card.  He has grown a lot.  Each time I see him I notice he is becoming a young man. He was also...