Hela schools receive furniture from donation programme

THREE schools in Hela will receive donated school furniture from two schools in Sydney, Australia through the Pacific Assist furniture donation programme.
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and Belmore South Primary School had donated a total of 153 desks, 178 chairs and other classroom equipment which were packed in two shipping containers and transported to Papua New Guinea. Sydney’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints public affairs officer Carolyn Croker said the donated furniture would be sent to schools in Hela that were affected by last year’s earthquake.
Croker said the shipment left Sydney on May 4 and was headed to Lae, Morobe, where their church representatives would organise its transport up the Highlands Highway to Hela.
She said the donated furniture would be distributed to Margarima High School, Tari High School and Kulanda Community School.
Crocker said school-aged youth volunteers from the church helped to load the furniture from the schools into the shipping container.
Belmore South Primary administrative manager Lisa Trewin said her school had recently acquired new furniture and they were happy to donate their unused furniture.
“Our school recently installed future focused furniture in our classrooms,” she said.
“So when the opportunity came up to collaborate with the Pacific Assist team and our neighbours at St Joseph’s Primary, we jumped at the opportunity.
“We are so happy that our loved classroom furniture will find a new home in Papua New Guinea.”
The project was coordinated by Pacific Assist, an Australian and New Zealand-based non-profit charity organisation through its online school furniture programme.
Pacific Assist provides education, health and well-being, economic development, and humanitarian assistance to countries in the Pacific.