Eden Chung Founder of the “Reboot2kids” program – supplied picture
The family of a former employee of Ok Tedi Mining Limited is helping to ‘reboot’ the lives of children in Kiunga.
For Mr. Damien Chung and his family, a part of their history lies in the hearts of the Star Mountains of Papua New Guinea as his daughter Ms. Eden Chung explains. Giving back to the province they once called home is their way of saying ‘Wesso’ meaning thank you (in the Oksapmin language of Sandaun).
This year the recipient schools were Gretutu Primary School, St Gabriel’s Technical Secondary School, and Rumginae Community Health Workers Training Center. A total of Seven Computers, 12 tablets, and a box filled with school shoes and football boots were donated by the Chung family for use by the schools here in Kiunga.
Eden Chung had this to say about her dad’s memories of Papua New Guinea.
“Papua New Guinea is a long way from Switzerland, where I live, but “lik lik pikinini” and “kai kai bilong ting ting” are tok pisin phrases which I hear often at our dinner table from my father who grew up in Wewak and later worked in Tabubil. I also saw photos of his visits to villages near Tabubil where little children guided him on climbing and caving expeditions. Each time he visited he would bring pens, pencils, and notebooks as gifts. From photographs, I also noticed the simple village school facilities and that none of the kids wore shoes.
A few years ago when I was figuring out ways to reduce waste as well as improve digital literacy among school children without access, I decided to collect unused football boots as well as electronic equipment to deliver to schools that might be happy to give them a second life. This became “Reboot2kids”. Naturally, PNG came to mind very easily; instead of pens and paper notebooks, how about electronic tablets, laptops, or football boots for the kids in the villages? I am very happy to have connected with OTDF as we benefited from the foundation’s network in Western Province and it allowed us to connect easily with potential schools.
In the process of setting up this project, I also discovered the issue of poor water quality affecting many children in remote areas. Using local resources here in Switzerland I have educated myself on this subject and have published a book called “Water Well; A Resource on Clean Water for Local Communities” to assist local administrators as well as an app version for school children. This has become the Water Well project (waterwell.org) and I hope it will also be of use to Ok Tedi Development Foundation.”
A wonderful example of servant leadership by a teenager who goes to such lengths to launch a project combining her two passions (football and technology). Reboot2Kids collects used information and communications technology devices (ICT) and gently-used football boots to ‘reboot’ them for the benefit of school children in developing countries.
About us: Reboot2Kids
MISSION
Reboot2Kids is an organisation founded to help school children in developing countries access clean water, with water treatment, digital literacy, educational and participative projects. Once kids have clean drinking water, they are healthier and have more time to learn and play. Computer labs are provided to teach digital literacy, but also educate school communities about water issues and we will support them in taking an active part in the solutions. Our support is tailored to each school’s particular situation.