Diving company delivers books to schools

By ROSELYN ELLISON
RABAUL-Kokopo Dive in East New Britain (ENB) has so far delivered a total of 28 boxes of reading books and second-hand teachers’ materials to three schools in the province.
According to Rabaul-Kokopo Dive co-owner and director Kathleen Cathcart, the 28 boxes were delivered to Nagailai Primary School at Makada Island in the Duke of York local level government (LLG) and Bitapaka Primary School in the Bitapaka LLG both in Kokopo and Sikut-Matupit Primary School in Rabaul.
Cathcart said the Rabaul-Kokopo Dive’s involvement in delivering books to schools started when tourist Phillip Whitely visited the province last year and did some diving with them.
“Whitely asked to be taken to a village school on his land tour to donate some books he had brought with him,” Cathcart said.
She said they took Whitely to Bitapaka PS and the visitor enjoyed his experience so much that he wanted to continue donating books to remote schools in the province.
Cathcart said Whitely approached Rabaul-Kokopo Dive to be a main point of contact in ENB, as a volunteer in support of the not-for-profit organisation “Books 4 PNG Kids” based in Australia to deliver donated books to schools in the province.
Cathcart said the donation included fiction and non-fiction books, educational games and teachers’ materials to schools outside of town.