Community Classroom
Donation protected
Papua New Guinea a close neighbour of Australia’s, only 1800km north of Darwin. Home to only 8 million people but incredibly diverse with over 800 different languages and cultures. PNG is a beautiful country from its bluest ocean, greenest rainforests and amazing people but suffers from high levels of corruption and poverty. Gross national income per capita is just $2.
In April, a few colleagues and I met a community leader, Charlie who is responsible for the livelihoods of more than 300 people in a settlement not 10 minutes from the town of Port Moresby. This community live near to and work on the local landfill site. The children don’t access formal schooling but go to the ‘dump’ collecting anything of value to sell or make use of for their settlement. Life is hard and only a few people have any formal employment, including Charlie himself who works on the site. These 300 people including over 100 children have no access to running water or electricity at this settlement.
Charlie comes across as a very humble man, softly spoken and incredibly committed to his community. He shared with us how he came to live on this Motuan land and has occupied this space for over 40 years. His only goal is to build a school & church space for his community.
Charlie has worked hard in kick starting his building, he has been able to gain support from the company, Curtain Brothers to lay a large foundation and slab for the base (seen in the pics). Since then he has used his small wage to purchase building materials. We want to be able to get this community space built, but need your help!
With quotes in from local building firms – we are aiming to raise Kina35,000 or AUD14,000 or GBP8,100.
We aim to keep those who have donated up to date with the progress of the build as well as keep in touch with the community once the space is finished. Next steps would be to support with books and teaching materials but we have a little way to go yet!
We are truly excited about this project, having a hand in changing the futures of these young people and want to thank you in advance for your support and encouragement!
In April, a few colleagues and I met a community leader, Charlie who is responsible for the livelihoods of more than 300 people in a settlement not 10 minutes from the town of Port Moresby. This community live near to and work on the local landfill site. The children don’t access formal schooling but go to the ‘dump’ collecting anything of value to sell or make use of for their settlement. Life is hard and only a few people have any formal employment, including Charlie himself who works on the site. These 300 people including over 100 children have no access to running water or electricity at this settlement.
Charlie comes across as a very humble man, softly spoken and incredibly committed to his community. He shared with us how he came to live on this Motuan land and has occupied this space for over 40 years. His only goal is to build a school & church space for his community.
Charlie has worked hard in kick starting his building, he has been able to gain support from the company, Curtain Brothers to lay a large foundation and slab for the base (seen in the pics). Since then he has used his small wage to purchase building materials. We want to be able to get this community space built, but need your help!
With quotes in from local building firms – we are aiming to raise Kina35,000 or AUD14,000 or GBP8,100.
We aim to keep those who have donated up to date with the progress of the build as well as keep in touch with the community once the space is finished. Next steps would be to support with books and teaching materials but we have a little way to go yet!
We are truly excited about this project, having a hand in changing the futures of these young people and want to thank you in advance for your support and encouragement!
Organizer
Anne Yale
Organizer
Burnside SA
