By Pius Yawalele, 3rd Year Aspirant

Bomana, Port Moresby, Papaua New Guinea, 19 June 2019 -- Savio Haus was privileged to have Mr and Mrs Fred and Norma Gomes during the first semester break. The couple arrived from Australia on 10 June 2019, and joined the aspirants for the outing at Rocky Hills, 17 Mile. The couple were with us from 11-19 June, which coincided with the term break for most aspirants. It was a great learning experience.

They conducted sessions on different areas of formation. These included English as a common language, health and hygiene, group dynamics and some tips on psychological development.

English as a common language was delivered in terms of grammar, tenses and formation of sentences. It included the writing and delivery of English effectively. The aspirants were provided handouts with exercises which were done and corrected together with the help of Fred and Norma.

Sessions on Health and Hygiene highlighted the importance of keeping one’s health a priority. This included ways of behaving in social gatherings, setting a table for eating, and the code of dress for different occasions.

Group dynamics was more of an open topic for discussion. In this session, the aspirants were taught ways of being an effective leader in a group and also in society as a whole. They were given topics to analyse, prepare and deliver with confidence in speaking in English. They were also helped to make speeches that are short and convincing with clear contents.

Psychological development covered simple topics such as the stages of growth, A.H. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, emotions, personality and love. They were discussed in terms of developing one’s behaviour and character especially in the context of being an aspirant. It was in view of how the aspirant could understand and accept himself and those around him and to master and control strong emotions and desires.

These were not the only things that the aspirants learned from the couple. They taught them simple patterns of ballroom dancing and shared many experiences and stories. They also helped the aspirants to read well in proclaiming the Word of God in the readings. It was a wonderful experience to have them around.

The aspirants expressed their gratitude on the evening of June 18 before the couple left for Australia the next day. Melchior Vatabu, a first year aspirant, can summarize the whole community’s appreciation in these words: “Thank you Mr and Mrs. Fred and Norma for helping me to know how to communicate well in English. I am grateful for your generosity, patience and time spent freely for our learning”.

For Don Bosco, holiday time is not a period of idleness, but more a change of activities. Thanks to Mr. Fred and Ms. Norma, holiday at Savio Haus became a time for life-long learning.