About us

I am 66 years old, born in Lyndhurst Hampshire, England. When I finished my apprenticeship with Esso (Exxon) as a boilermaker, at 20 years old I left for Africa. I spent 20 years there. With the demise of Rhodesia, I closed my engineering com. & retired. Not for long. A call came from Papua New Guinea to build a power station. The Pacific is completely different to anything I've ever known. Hence I've spent the last 25 years here. I met & married Walo now 51, from Hula Village down the coast. We have been married for 23 years. We have lived here, amongst the grass root people for all of that time. We have no children. However, after watching corruption inexorably creeping over this country, with the subsequent break down of services; e.g. schools, hospitals, law & order etc., Walo & I decided to start DahCavill School in 2001.

We based it upon Melanesian Values. Yes, I know there's myriads of Melanesian Vices, but after a tough struggle we began to separate them. Values & Vices that is. First rule of our school; No Church, magic or other mystic claptrap. Second rule; No Government, i.e. public servant syndrome, strikes, ineptitude etc. As everyone knows, Public Servants & Government workers are the rejects of the Private Sector. Third rule; No Conmen. So our only child was brought into being - DAHCavill Anona (Land). The 'H' in the name is 'HARI' (Motu for 'NOW') given to me at a special ceremony where I became a member of the Landowner family. Dysfunctional as it is, that's what Walo & I had to use. Since then I have become Administrator (Chief) of a large area of land. On that land resides every ethnic group of PNG. Unfortunately it's also known as the most dangerous criminal area of all of PNG.

Our Awards

For DAHCavill School to survive to adulthood, Walo & I took on the task of changing its notoriety. We had no finance, & no academic qualifications. However, we had a couple of highly undervalued tools. 1) An advanced knowledge of Melanesian Values well tried & tested. 2) A vast number of melanesian kids all around us. With those 2 things only, we've had resounding success. Once the private sector of PNG, & grassroots from all over PNG found out about us, we've had an avalanche of help in cash & in kind.

Our School Farm is providing breakfast & lunch for each child & the Mommas & Poppas who have become teachers here. Not only that, the kids take veges home to feed their families. The School runs 24/7 all year. Today 1st of Jan 2009, we were swamped with kids & parents - time to build a Village Hall!

The kids start here at 2 years old onwards. According to Melanesian custom, no one is turned away. It's quite common to see 10 to 15 year olds teaching their Bubu's (Grand parents) at 70 year old, how to operate a computer. All this with No School Fees. You see here in the Rural Sector, (the majority of PNG) there is no money. We are hunters & gatherers. To survive, we have to be damned good at it! This year we hope to prosper.

If I tried to list all the PEOPLE that have made the 'magic swamp' possible, let alone how far it's come, I would be writing for the next five years. Apart from Melanesian Values & the kids, there's only one person, that without her none of this would be. That is my Dearest wife Walo. Thanks my girl!

David Alfred Hari Cavill

Support the DahCavill Customary School. Donations in cash and kind are highly appreciated, thank you!

DahCavill Customary School
P.O. Box 2107
Boroko, NCD 111
Papua New Guinea
T: +675 325 4856 - E: click to contact us