Teachers from selected schools receive their education kits
Educational kits were purchased for ten elementary schools in North Fly at K76,000 through counter funding between Tutuwe Ara Women and Children’s Association and the Nima Ara Women and Children’s Association of the Community Mine Continuation Agreement (CMCA).
The presentation and training was facilitated by Save the Children PNG (SCPNG) through the All Children Reading (ACR) Program.
Mrs. Joan Gabriel of Matkomnai Elementary School expressed appreciation for the support. She said: “Because we don’t have access to power, we are limited to the resources we have available, using projectors and useful technology to teach is a challenge for us rural schools, however now having this solar generator kit to charge and power the devices is what we teachers have longed for”.
Vice President for Tutuwe Ara Mrs. Serah Meroke spoke for the two associations, acknowledging the support from Save the Children and Ok Tedi Development Foundation (OTDF) for delivering this education kits.
Save the Children PNG ACR Project Manager, Hilton Kapal, advised teachers from the ten schools in North Fly District of the importance of the educational kits and its maintenance. The teachers were provided training on the eLearning resource materials contained in the mobile phones prior to receiving the educational kits.
According to Save the Children PNG Area Manager, Mr. Stanley Kumasimba, the mobile phones are installed with the latest technology of interactive learning and teaching materials containing videos and basic phonics presented in Tok Pisin and English.
Mr. Kumasimba advised the teachers that an evaluation would follow to monitor the project and also provide recommendations to the women associations if the project was viable and could be extended to more schools in the Western Province.
Program Services Sustainable Development Manager Mr. Andrew Mari encouraged the teachers to take good care of the hi-tech equipment and its accessories as they were expensive. He said: “The equipment is meant for the whole school to use. From experience, many projects meant for community benefit were personalised, mishandled and damaged.”