Kids’ library gets books

AS Literacy Week begins today, Buk bilong Pikinini celebrated an important milestone, as yesterday marked its first shipment of children’s books to PNG.
Founder and chair of Buk bilong Pikinini Anne-Sophie Hermann said: “Bringing one million books to Papua New Guinea is not a small task. It is a huge milestone that we are proud of”.
“Thanks to our network of book donors, our volunteers packing and transporting the books to collection points, together with the professional logistical support from SEAFAST and Express Freight Management, means that we can continue to bring beautiful children’s books to PNG.
“SEAFAST is a vital partner in ensuring we have a constant flow of books and their team is an absolute pleasure to work with.
“We are humbled by and grateful for this extraordinary level of support, which has allowed Buk bilong Pikinini to grow and provide PNG’s children with access to a large variety of books, which inspire them to want to learn to read and create a better future for themselves.
“We are looking forward to the next stage of our mission to grow literacy in PNG.”
The Literacy Week starts today and ends on Friday.
In 2009, SEAFAST stepped in and set up collection points in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney and assisted with the transportation of books from Canberra, where Buk bilong Pikinini has an office and collection point at the PNG High Commission. As books were collected, they were then sorted, packed and delivered to SEAFAST, which shipped them free of charge to PNG.
Hermann said after the first shipment was received in September 2009, more than 367 shipments had followed, amounting to more than 287 tonnes of children’s books
Buk bilong Pikinini was established in 2007 with a mission to help increase literacy rates in PNG via the establishment of children’s libraries.