By ESWIN PLESIO– UPNG Journalism Student
THE University of Papua New Guinea Wau Bulolo Students Association (UPNG WBSA) has hosted its first-ever book drive in Morobe Province. The book drive was conducted on November 20 to 21.
The association’s President Nelson Sau and the Awareness Coordinator Henry Koiye negotiated book donations for the schools in the area.
It marks a milestone for the community, as there has been no book drive donation event of this scale in Wau Bulolo.
Sau said, their motive behind the establishment of the book drive and awareness program in schools in the Wau Waria and Bulolo districts was to improve literacy in education especially reading and comprehension skills and to motivate students to go into tertiary institutions.
“We move on to deliver books and carry out awareness about the importance of reading and motivate students to perform better academically,” Sau said.
The schools involved in this program include Grace Memorial Secondary school in Wau-Waria district and Bayan Lutheran Secondary School and Buang High School in Bulolo District.
The visit also covered three Elementary Schools in Buang LLG, Zamba, Menyakalu and Simsa Elementary Schools.
The Awareness Coordinator Henry Koiye said that one of the challenges that they’ve encountered was resource constraints such as funding limitations.
“We’ve reached out to potential sponsors to fund the project but unfortunately, we were not able to secure enough financial support for materials, transportation and awareness campaigns,” Koiye said.
The event was met with excitement and gratitude from the schools who received the generous donations. Students and teachers alike were thrilled to have access to new reading materials that will help enrich their learning experience.
