NGO donates 650 cartons of books to schools in Siwai

Schools in Siwai district in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville have received 650 cartons of books donated by locally based non-government organisation (NGO) Rara Rarei Foundation Inc.
The donation amounted to 20,000 books and were taken to AROB last month by the foundation’s programme director, Richard Rowaro. The foundation was established in 2012 and run by volunteers of Siwai to improve literacy and education in Siwai and Bougainville.
With the gift, the foundation has now established libraries in eight primary and two early childhood schools in Siwai over the past three years.
The primary schools are Monoitu, Iruh, Sininai, Rabaulu, Konga, Siuru and Hurai. The early childhood schools are Kunnu and Kainake .
Rowaro said the books were not easy to get and he reminded the students of schools which had received them that even some schools in the urban centres did not have a library.
Siwai district education officer George Ariku said the establishment of a library at Siuru Primary School had greatly improved academic results at the school in the past two years, with only four students out of the total 30 who sat for the grade 8 examination missing out of a high school selection.