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children waiting for a classroom February 2022
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Children in "Classroom" February 2022
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A classroom in Lese Oalai
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Section of the row of classrooms at Lese Oalai
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LO school girls pit toilets for 1,000 students
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Accessing the school site was difficult in the wet
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In two weeks RAWCS team + locals were smoking!
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After 39 days, the handicapped toilet was complete
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shells of 22 composting toilets complete @ 39 days
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Ned teaches, supervises, and mentors,not builds
| Summary: | The Lese Oalai junior school in the Gulf Province of PNG, is responsible for education of local children from grades prep to 3. There are 560 children currently attending, but this is likely to grow. Literacy rates in the Gulf Province are only 4.1%. The Lese Oalai village school was built in the mid 20th century and is now derelict and quite unsafe to use. Flooding rains from the Owen Stanley Ranges have left the school derelict. The Rotary Clubs of Torquay and Bayside Geelong seek to provide the opportunity to rebuild the school facilities and continue providing education materials and equipment in collaboration with Donations-In-Kind (Geelong), the Peter Nathan Loko Foundation, the Rotary Club of Boroko (PNG) and the PNG Gulf Association of Queensland. |
| Challenge: | The school buildings need to be replaced and the teacher's accommodation needs to be refurbished. The total funds required to purchase these materials is AUD$500,000.
As well the "pit" toilets attract water borne diseases, an uncomfortable smell from the toilets, unhygienic, and need to be replaced. The heavy rain brings with it dead tadpoles and worms washed onto the school grounds. When the school grounds are dry, the unbearable potent smell means school is closed until further notice.
There is no power or water delivered to either the school or the town, there is no library, the aid post is derelict and the difficulty attracting teachers is made worse by a sad lack of teacher accommodation |
| Solution: | The community has sought to rebuild this school for decades; requests to the government have not been answered. The community were committed to build it themselves, but could not afford construction materials.
The Rotary Club of Manly (D9685) worked with us to win a Global Grant (2239706, USD$87,000) from the Rotary Foundation to replace the current "pit" toilets with an array of 22 waterless composting toilets, with separate facilities for boys and girls, and for handicapped children; A RAWCS team (Rtn. Lucy Loko & Ned McLarney) in two weeks in July 2024 supervised, trained and mentored local artisans in the construction of these toilets. They built the platforms to hold the toilets in those two weeks, and were sufficiently trained to complete the construction in the next two months. |
| Long term impact: | 1. The toilet program is but a start:
2. Library (funded by the AHC in Port Moresby) was converted from a container used to ship educational materials to the school.
3. Then, restructuring of the aid post to help them cope with rampant malaria and dysentery,
4. Bringing water to the school and surrounding towns (courtesy of WASH & the RC of Brisbane Taylor Bridge D9620)
5. Construct 14 classrooms
6. and after that teacher accommodation,
7. Education for days-for-girls and building skills is concurrent.
The long term impact is to try to lift the literacy rate (currently just 4%) to improve the education level and the opportunities in this rapidly advancing world for the people of this remote village.
If we don't help them educate their children, their problems will become our |
| Sponsored by: | Rotary Club of Torquay, District 9780 |
| Endorsed by: | Rotary Club of Boroko, District 9620 |
| Other Partners: | Peter Nathan Loko Foundation
Rotary Club of Boroko (District 9620)
Rotary Club of Bayside Geelong (District 9780)
Papua New Guinea Gulf Association of Queensland
Rotary Club of Manly NSW (District 9685)
Rotary Club of Brisbane Taylor Bridge (District 9620) |