Classrooms, homes damaged by landslide

THE Bosa Primary School in Nawaeb district, Morobe, lost classrooms and teachers’ houses during a landslide.
At the nearby Sinembeneng village, 30 houses were also destroyed.
Two teacher’s houses, a double classroom and water supply were destroyed.
The foundation of a double-storey classroom building named after Prime Minister Peter O’Neill which was opened last Nov 14 was also shifted by the landslip and is almost toppling over.
Teachers were away on holiday when the disaster struck on Jan 11.
Ward 11 councilor Popoit Loki said Bosa Primary School was the pride of the villages including Bokimang, Boing, Sasapman, Gaunang, Sadau, Sirabo and Mombang.
“The destruction of these facilities leaves us in pain and we don’t know what to do,” Loki said.
The school was initiated in 1990 and was voted the most hygienic school under the Healthy Island programme in 2012 among others in Nawaeb district.
Loki said 50 coffee plots and a number of food gardens were also destroyed by the landslide.
Loki told Nawaeb MP Gisuwat Siniwin that villagers had decided to temporarily relocate the school to Bokimang to cater for upper grades. Siniwin was saddened to witness the destruction on Wednesday when he visited the school.
“I will present a report to the Morobe provincial education board, Minister for Education Nick Kuman, Secretary Uke Kombra and Prime Minister O’Neill,” Siniwin told the villagers.