Islands bleached by salt causing students to miss classes

By JIMMY KALEBE
MORE than 500 students from two primary schools in Siassi, Morobe, are likely to miss classes after the islands of Malai and Tuam were bleached by salt blown from the strong winds over a month now.
Malai Primary School headmaster Jessie Tapui said despite the disaster that the island faces, registration for students has been done and classes have started with only three staffs.
“Wind is a very big concern for us here and we need to somehow prevent it from carrying salt from the sea onto roofs,” Tapui said.
He said both schools experienced the same situation and with the winds still continuing.
“We are in need of water tanks as we are experiencing dry weather for almost more than three weeks now.
“We also need to block off the wind and the best we can do is to build walls out of canvas along buffer zones,” Tapui said.
He said the other need that both schools must have is good toilets for students and teachers.
Meanwhile, Tuam Island ward 13 councillor Robert Michael said Tuam Primary School had a very slow start for this academic year.
He said in three weeks time, they may be faced with food shortages because their gardens were bleached with salt from the sea blown by the strong winds.
Morobe disaster office visited both Malai and Tuam Islands over the last weekend to assess the situation on the ground.