Pomio students enjoy digital library

EDUCATION
By PATRICIA KEAMO
MORE than 200 students at Warongoi Elementary School in the Sinivit Local Level Government in Pomio, East New Britain will now have access to over 700 reading books – most of which were written by Papua New Guinean authors – thanks to a group of young leaders who are passionate about positive change.
Through the Kokoda Track Foundation’s (KTF) Archer Leaders Development Programme, Archer alumni led by team leader Jeremy John with members Lydia Dimokari, Evangelista Apelis, Joshua Kamilo and Perryson Miori initiated a project called Digitally Empowering Children to Read.
The project saw the successful delivery of 40 Digital Library tablets and 200 Solar Buddy lights to Warongoi Elementary School on Sept 22 this year.
This was made possible through the KTF’s annual grant programme which encourages groups of Archer alumni to apply their combined knowledge and experience to identify a community issue and develop a practical solution.
The winners of the grant programme then turn their concept idea into reality with financial and mentoring support throughout the year.
For this group, they saw the need to deliver their project to Warongoi Primary after learning that the school has been functioning without a library.
The project was aimed at introducing children to the Sparks Digital Library – a ready-made digital library that is designed to suit different children’s reading levels.
“It is believed that children learn more effectively through imagination and we want to inspire and encourage more school children to tap into the habit of reading,” said team lead, Jeremy John.
To complement the delivery of the digital library, the team also delivered 200 palm sized solar buddy lights to the students and teachers of Warongoi primary.
“Our team successfully delivered the project witnessed by members of the community and parents,” said John.
“The Digital Library of 40 tablets consists of over 700 reading books and a majority of these books have been written by PNG writers.
“The Solar Buddy Lights on the other hand are palm sized lights which were built by kids for kids. “About 200 lights have been distributed to each student and teacher.
“These lights can stay long hours even if they have been charged for a short period of time.
The school has been operating without a library which has been challenging for teachers to prepare daily lessons for the students.
The project delivery is a game changer with the hope of improving the standard of learning for children in the community.
“Early Childhood Education and learning is the most important foundation in a child’s development,” said John.
“That is where we need to focus on and get right so children won’t have to play catch-up or struggle when they progress into primary and secondary schools.
“That is one of the aim of the project to boost early childhood learning by proving the Digital Library Kit and Solar Buddy Lights to all students and teachers.
“We hope that this project will add value and enhance their learning to excel academically.
“This project is our first with the delivery also the first of its kind in the East New Britain. Warongoi Elementary School is the first school in the province to receive the Sparks Digital Classroom Library Kit.
“Since this is the first project, we have not planned yet to deliver to the next school but the team is definitely inspired and there may be future plans for this.
“This project is not limited to schools in ENB and as mentioned we may have plans for other schools outside of ENB – this is still in the planning stage.”
The group acknowledged partners who co-funded the project including Kokoda Track Foundation, Mundango Abroad, Bank of South Pacific Financial Group Limited and supported by Westpac PNG Bank Limited, Library for All, Solar Buddies, the Pomio district office (Sinivit LLG) and the ENB provincial education office.