SPECIAL NEEDS LIBRARY LEARNING CENTRE & INCLUSIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM

Our Special Needs program

Buk bilong Pikinini opened a Special Needs Library Learning Centre in September 2008, at the Red Cross Special Education Resource Centre in Hohola, Port Moresby. When Buk bilong Pikinini first discovered the school there was no library books in the classrooms, the special needs learning materials available to the children were very limited and the general support for the children was very poor.

Thanks to a generous kick-start $5,000 donation by Sir Theo Constantinou, Buk bilong Pikinini was able to establish the library and employ staff. The program provided educational assistance to young children enrolled at the school and special needs resources and materials to approximately 100 disabled children. The focus for the BbP program was to teach sign language as most of the children are hearing impaired.

The library was until 2011 sponsored through a variety of donations made to Buk bilong Pikinini. In 2011 the prestigious Sidney Myer Foundation chose to grant 29,000 dollars to Buk bilong Pikinini through the Foundation’s Beyond Australia Programme. The Ausenco Foundation provided sponsorship of the library from 2013-2016. As a result, the library received a general upgrade of new sign language materials including portable DVD players for visual phonics and learning. Buk bilong Pikinini was also able to develop a Disability Awareness programme thanks to the support from the Ausenco Foundation.

The library featured a large number of sign language books, posters, games and other special needs materials alongside the 3000 books we put in every BbP library. This library has greatly benefitted the literacy levels of the children at the school, who have been able to enjoy the stories read out and signed to them by our two librarians. The children were also able to take the books home and teaching their families to use sign language.

Noah Agino, our Head Librarian, is deaf and attended the school himself as a child. With the support of Mary McKillop Today, BbP was able to publish a picture book reader entitled “My name is Noah – This is my Story”, which tells his story of growing up deaf and the importance of education. The picture book is illustrated by Peter Ella.

BbP was also able to publish “Our Special Stories” based on the partnership we have had with Mary McKillop Today to support children with disabilities in Vanimo through our program. The picture book covers the stories of ten children living with different disabilities and beautiful images of the children and their surroundings have been captured by photographers Vanessa Kerton @madnessphotos and Roan Paul @roanpaul50.

The library has been sponsored by the Sir Brian Bell Foundation from 2018-2020 and is now closed while we prepare to open a dedicated centre for hearing impaired children together with the foundation. Thanks to the sponsorship support by the Sir Brian Bell Foundation, Noah and Marlyn (our inclusive education specialist) are now part of the Head Office team and are preparing teaching resources for the new centre including a sign language dictionary for children, videos, sign language classes for parents and children and much more.

BbP’s Early Childhood Education program is inclusive and all our teacher librarians receive training in sign-language.

Our Special Needs Program is generously sponsored by: Sir Brian Bell Foundation