This has been achieved through the No Roads Expedition Foundation.
Its mission is to undertake respectful, sustainable and collaborative health programs that will improve health outcomes in remote PNG.
Rotary has now stepped up its support with the help of Benalla’s St Joseph’s Primary School.
This partnership has enabled it to donate early years readers to support student reading from Prep to Year 2 levels.
The initiative will see the books delivered to Vovo Elementary School in the Tufi province of PNG, supporting the local community to help themselves and strengthening local capacity.
On Thursday, June 11 Benalla Rotary members Colin McDonald and Hayley Shelton, who is also curriculum leader at St Joey’s, met with Claire Schiller representing the No Roads Foundation to make the donation.
That donation is not simply in the form of books, they also come with educational support material.
“These textbooks became available through the education department,” Mr McDonald said.
“Hayley, as a representative of both organisations, made Rotary aware of these books.
“We are part of a team within our Rotary club in Benalla that represents the international arm, and we thought it was a great idea to make use of them.
“They’re sitting here doing nothing. In PNG, they can do a whole lot of good work.”
Ms Shelton said the work Rotary had been doing with No Roads was more about sponsorship of health professionals.
“Now we’re tacking in a bit of extra support on the education side,” she said.
“So, we’re sending 26 boxes of books. It’s basically a full set for Year 1 and 2 of reading levels A to Z.
“For each book there is guided reading material.”
This aims to help teachers in PNG to guide their lesson plans and get the most from the donated books.
“It helps someone who’s not so familiar with the educational process to be able to pick it up and conduct a lesson,” Ms Shelton said.
“And so then each book has six copies of it, and that allows a small group to work on the same book together.
“And then they progress to the next book or the next level as they go.”
Ms Schiller said the donation would make a big difference in the lives of teachers and students in remote PNG.
“In July, a team of Australian teachers will travel to the Tufi District of PNG as part of the No Roads Foundation’s Education Project,” she said.
“The initiative was developed following a 2019 visit that identified significant challenges facing local schools, including limited access to teaching resources, classroom materials and professional learning opportunities.
“Working alongside local teacher Cyril, in Vovo Elementary School, the Australian team will share effective literacy and numeracy teaching practices, provide professional development and support classroom learning.
“Cyril has been teaching approximately 100 students on his own for many years and has recently welcomed an additional 40 students, highlighting the growing demand for education in the region.
“Supporting Cyril are eight volunteer teacher aides from the local community who have generously stepped forward to help educate their children.
“While their dedication is remarkable, they have had limited opportunities for formal training.”
Ms Schiller said the donated books and the guided reading material would be used by the visiting Australian team.
“The visiting teachers will work closely with Cyril and his aides to provide practical, hands-on professional learning, strengthen teaching skills and build lasting partnerships that will support ongoing development,” she said.
“A key focus of the project is improving access to educational resources while building the capacity of local educators.
“By sharing knowledge, providing support and fostering sustainable practices, the project aims to create lasting improvements in learning outcomes for students in these remote communities.”
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