Papua New Guinea Literacy Week 2015

We would like to start the 2015 PNG Literacy Week (8-12 September) by thanking our book donors - for what would our libraries be without books? A huge thank you to all our wonderful book donors who have taken time to collect, carry and pack books across Australia for PNG children to enjoy! A just as huge thank you to our shipper Seafast and Express Freight Management for getting the books to Papua New Guinea.

Thank you to:

Australian National Territory

Lifeline Canberra (our biggest donor), National Library of Australia, Turner Primary School, CSIRO, Double Helix Science Magazines, Ron's book shop, Nayni Grant Shamala, Kylie Maloney - Australian National University, Attorney General's Department, Catherine Chapman, Author, AJ & Les Explorateurs Scout Group, Glenis Thomas, Southern Cross Early Childhood School - Scullin, Hon. Julie Bishop -Foreign Minister of Australia, The Cartel - Bungendore, Kami Kaur, U3A Melanesia, Micronesia Poynesia Study Group

Queensland

Steve and Leanne Eggins - Brisbane, Brisbane Urban Environmental Education Centre, People Connexion Recruitment in Brisbane & PNG

Victoria

Sue Shuttleworth, Alison Lester - Author-Illustrator & BbP Patron, Oxford University Press, Wild Dog Books, Hardie Egmont Grant, Royal Children's Hospital - Cathy Gatt, Grace, Darcy & Clara - Mansfield Secondary College

New South Wales

Mummies Paying it Forward - http://asylumseekerscentre.org.au/mummies-paying-it-forward/, Micheal Liddy - Culburra, Emily, Eva, Maddie Kunce - St Ives Chase, Griffith Honours College - Samuel Wheeler

Tasmania

Hobart Book Shop - http://www.hobartbookshop.com.au

Canada

Kindlers Society - http://www.kindlerssociety.org

If you or your organisation has been collecting books for Buk bilong Pikinini in 2015 and that you are not on this list please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Feel free to also get in contact to hear how you can start a book drive.

Australian donors visit

BbP received a visit from high level Australia based donors at our library next to Evadahana Primary School on the 27th of August. Our guests enjoyed meeting our Teacher-librarians and watching the children in their morning literacy session.

Our guests included Harold Mitchell and Stephanie Copus-Campbell from the Harold Mitchell Foundation, Chairman of Oil Search Rick Lee and his wife Judy, also from Oil Seach Tim Siegenbeek van Heukelom, Annabel Dulhunty and Angus White from Mundango Abroad and Mel Keys from the Aspen Medical Foundation. First Lady and our Ambssador Lynda Babao-O'Neill was also there to meet our guests. Everyone received a great welcome from the children and the community.

Buk bilong Pikinini is grateful for all the support we receive from our donors in both PNG and Australia to help improve literacy rates and forster a love of reading and learning in Papua New Guinea.


Thank you so much to Vanessa Kerton-Smythe, MadNESS Photography for the amazing photos - see album: https://www.facebook.com/BukbilongPikinini

Hearing Awareness Week

A great thank you to KramerAusenco and the Ausenco Foundation.

Buk Bilong Pikinini held an event at our library for the hearing impaired at the Red Cross Special Education Resource Center to celebrate Hearing Awareness Week to raise awareness about the difficulty living with hearing loss and deafness. This is to help eliminate the stigma, isolation, lack of educational opportunities, and the associated health issues to improve the overall quality of life for people with deafness or hearing impairment.

Buk bilong Pikinini has had a library at the RCSERC since 2008. The library was started with a grant from Sir Theo Constantinou and is today a wonderful resource centre thanks to the sponsorship of the Ausenco Foundation and Kramer Ausenco which has provided funding for the library, special needs teaching materials, DVD players, iPads and this year also the assistance of an international volunteer - Rowan Southwell from VSO.

The students gave a demonstration of their extensive sign-language vocabulary and great confidence in reading and signing. The children were also each presented with a bag containing books, literacy materials and small posters to promote signing between the children and their parents.

The Ausenco Foundation’s ongoing funding will enable the children and teachers to continue their learning and the development of a broader disability awareness program across BbP libraries.

A great thank you to all our guests for coming; our wonderful Ambassador Lynda Babao-O'Neill, representatives for the Ausenco Foundation and KramerAusenco CEO Bruce Nicholson and William Natera, Government/Public Relations. We are also grateful for the attendance of Anna K Solomon, Secretary for the Department of Community Development, Jodie McAllister from the Australian High Commission, Michael Lulu from Callan services.

Thank you Vanessa Kerton-Smythe, MadNESS Photography for the beautiful photos.

For more information on the Ausenco Foundation, please visit http://www.ausenco.com/ausenco-foundation

Buk bilong Pikinini's new Executive Officer

We are very proud to introduce Lucinda Gulluman-Kisip as our new Executive Officer. Lucinda has had an extremely busy start to the job with celebrations such as International Environment Day in the libraries, a visit to our Lae libraries and an official visit from the Ambassador of Sweden, H.E. Par Alhberger, to our Koki library.

Lucinda comes with a great background in the development sector and is no stranger to all things Buk bilong Pikinini. Lucinda is looking forward to meeting all the great people who are supporting BbP to maintain and establish libraries across Papua New Guinea.

This is what she said: "I gave up a career in the Science/Mining industry in 2001 to work in the development sector, because I wanted to be able to help PNG people and communities improve services in their communities by taking ownership of development.

My 15 years of working in the Development sector has also ignited an interest in organisational development for NGOs in PNG and particularly in looking at how indigenous NGOs can grow and thrive in PNG.

Working as the Key Partnerships Coordinator under the Australian Government funded Strongim Pipol Strongim Nesen, I was part of a team that worked with BbP to develop it's organisational systems and strategic plans,etc...

Watching BbP grow from strength to strength has provided me with great job satisfaction. Hence, when the opportunity to join BbP presented itself, I jumped at it.

My personal love of reading and promoting reading with my children and other family members, also made this job all the more alluring. Growing up in PNG in the late nineties, I had the opportunity of borrowing books from the Public Library. I'm saddened that this service no longer exists for many Papua New Guinean children today.

I believe that no matter what your background or experience has been, reading or providing books to children is building is a great foundation for the future."

Welcome to Buk bilong Pikinini Lucinda!