WAUNINGI Adventist Primary School came alive on Monday, July 20, 2026, as church members, parents and students gathered to welcome two significant visitors: Education Director Mr. Melvin Hames and Minister Reuben Apari, newly transferred to serve as pastor of Poro Seventh-day Adventist Church. The occasion marked not only a warm welcome but a moment of profound recognition for a school that has endured nine years of quiet sacrifice to reach this point.
Aitape District Director Pastor Jonah Hombi formally welcomed Minister Apari during the program and urged him to maintain a regular presence at the school — a charge that underscored the deep connection between the church and the educational ministry it serves in Sandaun Province.
NINE YEARS WITHOUT PAY, WITHOUT RECOGNITION
Caretaker headteacher Ms. Ingrid Poris gave a brief but powerful report of the school’s history. Founded in 2018, Wauningi Adventist Primary School has operated for nine years on borrowed positions, without pay, and without formal recognition — sustained entirely by the commitment of teachers and community members who chose the mission of God over personal security.
In those nine years, the school graduated two classes of Grade 8, with a number of students selected to continue their studies at Nagum Adventist Secondary School. Education was happening. Children were being shaped. And now, after nearly a decade of perseverance, the school has been approved for registration — set to become the first registered Adventist primary school in West Sepik Province under Sepik Mission.
A COMMUNITY THAT SHOWED UP
The day’s program drew a broad cross-section of community leadership. Speeches were delivered by the Ward Councillor, the Principal of Aitape Secondary School, Pastor Jonah Hombi, Minister Reuben Apari and others — a gathering that reflected just how much Wauningi Adventist Primary School has come to mean to the wider community it serves.
For Sepik Mission, the approval of Wauningi Adventist Primary School for formal registration is more than an administrative milestone. It is the recognition of nine years of faithful, uncompensated service by a community that believed in Adventist education long before the paperwork caught up with them.
