In many areas of Australia we take for granted that children have ready access to books. This is not the case in many countries, including Papua New Guinea (PNG). Our club has been working to help address this problem over recent years.
We have been partnering with Buk bilong Pikinini (BbP), which is an Early Childhood Literacy, Numeracy and Awareness Program developed in PNG focussing on children who have had limited exposure to books and libraries. The program is delivered through BbP libraries where trained teacher-librarians provide a free-of-charge program to school children twice a week.
We have supported this project for several years, most recently collecting, storing and sorting more than 150 boxes of books for delivery to the PNG High Commission, which facilitates their delivery to PNG. At every step of the way BbP coordinators and members of staff at the High Commission have declared the great need for these books and enthusiastically expressed their thanks for our efforts.
Working together we can make a difference!