A container full of educational material has just been unloaded at the Peter O’Connor School at Gerehu, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The material came from St Mary’s Catholic College Cairns and the Holy Cross Primary School in Trinity Park.
The freight was paid for by the Peter O’Connor Foundation.
In PNG, Pastor Mike Field paired the quality of the materials, especially the shelving for the books.
The material was gathered together by Harry Graepel who teaches at St Mary’s. Often Australian schools renew material that is still in a usuable condition. One of the biggest difficulties in getting the material to where they are urgently needed in developing countries is the payment of the freight. This is where the Peter O’Connor Foundation play a vital role.
This donation included desks, chairs, filing cabinets, shelving and books.
The chair of the Peter O’Connor Foundation, John Bottoms, said that the foundation had now provided freight on several occasions for material no longer need in Australian schools.
“These materials are deeply appreciated in PNG where students often have to sit on the floor and where libraries are scant or non-existent,” he said. “Without the payment of freight, most of the material would otherwise be discarded.”
