Japanese visit Bougainville to check on TV equipment

Storyby KESSIE TADAP
TAKING ownership of donor-funded projects is important because it will ease their sustainabili­ty for the benefit of the community in the long-run, a teacher says.
This was demonstrated by a local primary school on the island of Buka, in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, last week when it was visited by officials of  the Embassy of Japan and the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA).
They wanted to see the progress and the impact of a satellite dish and television monitors given to the school.
The equipment was donated under the grant assistance for grassroots human security project and supported by the Embassy of Japan.
Head teacher Talania Joseph Nathaniel said from the initial equipment donated by JICA and through fundraising efforts from showing live programmes such as the State of Origin rugby league games, the school was able to generate  income.
The school used the money to buy seven more television screens.
It has benefitted the students who can learn through televised lessons filmed at the Wardstrip Demonstration Primary School in Port Moresby and telecast nationwide.
The lessons taught through the televised lessons include mathematics and science.
Bougainville was one of the pilot provinces with East Sepik and would be used as model centres when the project was taken to other provinces, JICA representative Yoshikazu Taniguchi said.
Schools visited by the team from JICA and the embassy were Hahela Primary School    and Wakunai Primary School, which is struggling to raise money to buy more monitors for the school.