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Mum’s Preschools: A Beacon of Light in a Developing Nation
A prophet’s voice begins an education revolution in Papua New Guinea.
In April 2015, President Thomas S. Monson spoke in the Sunday morning session of general conference. “Our opportunities to shine surround us each day,” he said, “in whatever situation we find ourselves.”
Seven thousand miles away, a group of women huddled around their village’s only television set and listened to a prophet of God. Afterwards they decided to do some good, to “shine” in their communities, regardless of the difficult challenges they faced.
Lulu Hota was one of those women. She and her friends lived in the deep tropical jungle surrounding the fishing village of Madang, in the eastern coastal region of Papua New Guinea. They were small in number but strong in their testimonies. Their native villages were carved out of a beautiful equatorial jungle that was home to intense poverty and shockingly underdeveloped schools.
Nevertheless, these mothers, guided by the principles of self-reliance learned from worn, donated Relief Society books, took President Monson at his word and set about creating a network of village preschools.
Humble beginnings
At the time, educational opportunities for Papua New Guinea’s remote villages were rare, and the mothers wanted more for their children than they themselves had achieved. They lived in grass huts without electricity or other modern conveniences. In their villages, three meals a day was an impossible luxury. The odds against achieving success with their preschool plans were overwhelming.
Nevertheless, a prophet had spoken, the Holy Ghost had borne witness to their souls, and they confidently went to work.
By October 2015, their diligence in planning these schools was noticed by the Church’s Pacific Area Presidency based in Auckland, New Zealand. Regional Church committees offered direction and suggestions on how to effectively organize their schools and develop their curriculum. By the following February, eight Mum’s Preschools were launched in the villages surrounding Madang.
The mothers rejoiced, believing their prayers had been answered in full, but the Lord had much more in mind for the Mum’s Preschools than these first mums could imagine.
Remarkable Growth
Children who attended Mum’s Preschools entered Papua New Guinea’s struggling public schools with real advantages. They knew their ABCs, numbers, and colours. They understood how to learn in a classroom. Most importantly, they knew how to learn.
Word spread. After one year, eight schools existed. Ten years later, in 2025: 102.
Their shared goal is to create engaged, confident teachers and young learners ready to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118). They’re guided by principles of respect, honesty, fairness, tolerance, and unity.
As the schools spread, the Church supported the grassroots work. A 2019 guidebook taught teachers how to launch new schools and manage classrooms. Within a few years, the Reading Dynamics program became standard curriculum.
After four years, Papua New Guinea’s provincial governments took notice. Something special was happening in early childhood education. Rural public schools noticed. Parents saw their children’s rapid progress, especially members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Church leaders throughout the Pacific noticed too.
The Schools Blossom
Each new school reflects individual mothers’ motivation to improve their children’s lives—whether in rural villages or poverty-stricken urban neighbourhoods. The vision is national, but the focus is relentlessly local.
Nina Frank and her husband, Robert, live in Port Moresby with their five children. The family joined the Church in 2018. The following year, a few Relief Society sisters wanted to start their own schools. Sister Frank accepted the challenge.
Six years later, she oversees volunteer staff supporting 48 schools in the Port Moresby region, reaching nearly 1,800 students. She connects donated supplies to under-equipped schools in remote areas. Her personality is as large as her impact on hundreds of young students. Wherever the schools are planted, they blossom—and her enthusiasm is contagious.
“Mum’s schools are good in our country,” she says. “It’s growing, and it will grow faster in the future. This work is about God’ children, and I love what He has given me. He gives me strength to do the job and help children come back to Him. The world is not good right now. We need our schools to teach and guide our children.”
One School’s Story: Blessing Students and Teachers
In Gerehu, just outside Port Moresby, Mum’s River Preschool provides an educational haven in a challenging urban environment.
Sister Ranu Hebore has run the school since 2022. The children who attend are blessed, but she insists the Lord’s blessings to her are just as real.
“I thank Heavenly Father for this opportunity to run a school,” she says. “I know the Lord is on my side. He watches me. He teaches me. It’s not easy, but I keep going. Sometimes I struggle, but I know He’s with me when I see Him blessing the little children. When I taught them, I was learning myself. They learned from me, and I learned from them. I learned to read as they learned to read. The Lord knows what I’m doing. He is always in our sight.”
The Future of Mum’s Preschools
In 2025, Papua New Guinea’s 102 Mum’s Preschools operate independently through a nationwide foundation. The Church continues supporting the schools through AcaPNG, a Church-assisted nonprofit.
Challenges remain. Mum’s Preschools are often found in impoverished, underdeveloped villages where internet and electricity are rare. Student fees for paper and supplies, though small, are beyond many families’ reach. Teachers must learn both the curriculum and the administration. State licensing requirements grow more expensive and time-consuming as schools multiply.
Yet the movement is spreading. What began in Madang’s northern region and around Port Moresby now reaches throughout the nation. Motivated parents and dedicated organizations like AcaPNG are developing schools in remote towns and villages, giving more children a head start.
The real measure of success will come in generations. As the first Mum’s-educated students grow to maturity, more classrooms will follow, creating a rising baseline for academic development that will improve Papua New Guinea’s educational future for generations.
It began with a small group of faithful Relief Society sisters living modestly in a tropical jungle. They discovered through the words of a living prophet that the Lord blesses all who seek His will and follow His commandments through hard work, diligent study, and loving obedience.