Books 4 PNG Kids

LIGHT THE WAY
Guess what’s in the back of this 4WD that’s just arrived in an extremely remote village in Okapa District in PNG’s Highlands.
Books donated by Books 4 PNG Kids for the village school, Amusa Primary School.
Delivering the books to such a remote, rugged area was challenging but Goroka-based NGO Waniati Maternal Waiting Home (WMWH) and Project YUMI came through!
The whole village turned out for the arrival of the books after a strenuous trip by the delivery team along muddy mountain roads and across rivers.
Amusa Primary School is approximately 110km south of Goroka, the capital of Eastern Highlands Province.
The school suffers from severe geographic isolation, which limits the delivery of essential supplies and infrastructure, leaving students without electricity or modern learning materials, according to Maternal Waiting Home.
Now the school has critical educational resources - library books donated by Books 4 PNG Kids - and Solar Buddy lights for children to be able to read and study at night.
Books are vital for many remote schools in PNG which do not have electricity or internet access.
Without books, it’s a struggle for pupils to learn to read and develop the literacy and general knowledge they need to continue their education.
It’s also a struggle for teachers to teach without any books or other educational resources.
This initiative to deliver books and solar lights aims to make reading a daily habit for students.
Literacy for all also delivers long-term benefits for individuals, families, communities and nations.
For girls, access to education reduces the likelihood of early pregnancies and attendant medical risks.
WMWH is a Goroka-based NGO that provides accommodation, food and medical care for marginalised pregnant women, who may have to walk for days across rugged terrain to access health and other services.
Amusa Primary School’s board chairman expressed his deep gratitude to Waniati Maternal Waiting Home, Books 4 PNG Kids and Project YUMI for their generous donation of student resources.
Books 4 PNG Kids proudly acknowledges partners Kayop Investment Limited and Maino Lucas for supporting children’s education in PNG.
Thank you!
Griffith University Papua New Guinea Students Association
Waniati Mwh
Australian High Commission Papua New Guinea

PNG journalist Charlie Dumavi interviewed Books 4 PNG Kids founder and CEO Heather Doonan earlier this year for EMTV news.
This post by Charlie sums it up but it's worth watching his news story on EMTV about how Books 4 PNG Kids has donated books to so many remote schools throughout PNG (and also Fiji and the Solomon Islands) over the years.

GOOD TO GO
It was another action-packed day at Books 4 PNG Kids’ Brisbane factory last Friday.
First up, 10 pallets of books donated by Books 4 PNG Kids were packed and dispatched for shipping to schools on Lihir Island in New Ireland Province.
The initiative by Lihir International School parents and friends will deliver books donated by Books 4 PNG Kids to local schools on Lihir Island, more than 200km SE of Kavieng.
We were also thrilled to receive generous donations of books from schools including Rainworth State School and Mudgeeraba State School - personally delivered by Catherine Patten from First Express - across the road in Flanders St, Salisbury, and also Therese Yenneos, a teacher and music specialist at Mudgeeraba State School.
Therese drove up from northern NSW to bring eight boxes of books to Books 4 PNG Kids.
A great turnout of volunteers included a team of hardworking Carinity Education Southside students, along with Jolene Paraide from Toma LLG, Gazelle District, East New Britain, and Julia Kusunan from Milne Bay Province who has volunteered for Books 4 PNG Kids in both PNG and Australia.
We also celebrated and shared cake with birthday girl Mia.
As Books 4 PNG Kids founder and CEO Heather Doonan said, it shows real dedication to volunteer at Books 4 PNG Kids on your birthday!
The ultimate aim of everyone working together is for books to reach schools throughout PNG such as Subiyoro Primary School in Morobe Province which had no library and no books until a delivery earlier this year organised by SERACS Foundation’s Ponsie Yasaro.
Subiyoro Primary School is along the Mou River in Morobe Rural LLG, Morobe District, about 140km SE of Lae. It has 189 students and 6 teachers.
The 5 boxes of books from Books 4 PNG Kids will benefit Subiyoro Primary’s 189 students and 6 teachers - and future pupils.
Books 4 PNG Kids proudly acknowledges partners Kayop and Maino Lucas for supporting children’s education in PNG.
Environmental Research & Consultancy Services Foundation Inc.

Kayop Investment Limited
Australian High Commission Papua New Guinea

POWER OF FOUR
These photos of a Books 4 PNG Kids donation to a remote school in PNG tell a story of a community’s dedication and persistence to overcome despite many challenges.
The four teachers at Agibu SDA Primary School in Okapa District, Eastern Highlands Province (EHP), are all volunteers who have been providing daily instruction to these children without any books or other teaching aids.
Now they have books donated by Books 4 PNG Kids thanks to this delivery by Project YUMI and Maternal Waiting Home.
Project YUMI’s delivery also included SolarBuddy lights, which will allow the pupils to study at night in this village that likely has no electricity or internet.
The school in West Okapa LLG in PNG’s Highlands was established 6 years ago.
Its buildings and classrooms are made of temporary bush materials.
“Despite operating continuously for six years, no government representatives or mission agency officials have ever visited the site,” Maternal Waiting Home posted.
Each day, the four volunteer teachers are donating their time, energy and resources to change the lives of children in this community and give them opportunities through education that will flow on to future generations.
Literacy provides long-term benefits for any society.
For girls, access to education reduces the likelihood of early pregnancies and attendant medical risks.
In many remote rural communities in PNG, villagers - including pregnant women - may have to walk several days across rugged mountainous terrain to access health and other services.
Waniati Maternal Waiting Home is a Goroka-based NGO that provides accommodation, food and medical care for these marginalised pregnant women.
Books 4 PNG Kids proudly acknowledges partners Kayop Investment Limited and Maino Lucas for supporting children’s education in PNG.
A shout-out to all of our volunteers including these two Carinity Education Southside students who last Friday chose to volunteer at our Brisbane factory.
You are changing lives - book by book!
Thank you!

Australian High Commission Papua New Guinea

MAJOR DELIVERY
This was a big event for secondary school students in Tabubil, a mining town in PNG’s far Western Province with one of the world’s highest annual rainfalls.
More than 1,100 students at Tabubil Secondary School turned out for the handover of 26 cartons of books donated by Books 4 PNG Kids and delivered by Kayop.
The thousands of books will boost learning, spark ideas and provide incentive for the students to further their education and pursue opportunities it provides.
The delivery happened thanks to Books 4 PNG Kids’ partnership with Investment Limited.
Under the initiative of Kayop MD Maino Lucas, dozens of North Fly District schools and some in Telefomin District have received books donated by Books 4 PNG Kids and shipped from Brisbane-Kiunga and delivered to schools by Kayop.
Star Mountain Education Foundation has also delivered books donated by Books 4 PNG Kids to remote schools in the Star Mountains of Western Province.
Representatives from Kayop Investment Ltd joined Tabubil Secondary School staff and students to officially present the books, which arrived directly from Australia from Books 4 PNG Kids, as these photos from Идау Кеннеди Рава show.
The books will be a major boost for the school library.
The school community expressed gratitude for the donation, calling it a significant step toward strengthening literacy and learning at Tabubil Secondary, Идау Кеннеди Рава said.
Tabubil, built to serve the Ok Tedi mine, is Western Province’s largest settlement, with a population of around 10,000 (2011 census), although Daru, near the mouth of the Fly River, is the provincial capital.
It's in the Star Mountains, close to PNG’s border with Indonesia, and has an annual average rainfall of 8m.
The books are shipped from Brisbane-Kiunga and then taken by road to Tabubil.
We sincerely thank Maino Lucas and the entire Kayop team for standing behind children’s literacy and education in PNG.
Together, we are helping books reach children who may not otherwise have easy access to reading materials.
Kayop Investment Limited
Australian High Commission Papua New Guinea

GREAT LENGTHS
It’s amazing the lengths people will go to to support Books 4 PNG Kids - in both Australia and PNG.
We’re always grateful for everyone who makes Books 4 PNG Kids possible, including:
📚Generous book donors
🙋‍♀️Volunteers like these Carinity Education Southside students who sort and pack books each week in Australia
🇵🇬Our partners Kayop and Maino Lucas
⛰️Those who overcome many challenges to deliver books to schools throughout PNG.
This couple recently visited our Brisbane factory with a caravan loaded with books donated by Malanda State School in North Queensland.
Malanda is a small rural town on the Atherton Tableland, about 1,750km north of Brisbane - so it was quite a journey for this couple to bring the books to Brisbane so they can be shipped to schools in PNG.
In comparison, the driving distance from Lae-Mendi is about 600km.
This couple dropped off even more boxes of books donated by Malanda State School than the photo shows - so our heartfelt appreciation to them and to the school.
Thank you also to Rosewood State School for donating 25 boxes of library books and to Kay Spann and her husband David, who stored the books underneath Ipswich Paint Supplies until we picked them up.
Sacred Heart Primary School in Toowoomba was another recent generous book donor.
Books like these will be donated to schools throughout PNG such as Waterhouse Memorial Primary School in Kombiu LLG, Rabaul District, East New Britain, as these photos from Dame Sandra Lau show.
The school is in the Gelegele Resettlement area, where people displaced by Rabaul’s 1994 volcanic eruptions live.
Dame Sandra, with her husband John Lau, have shipped and distributed books donated by Books 4 PNG Kids to many schools in ENB and Bougainville.
Dame Sandra is MD of Tropicana Ltd, a supermarket and wholesale business in Kokopo, and is known for her charity work for schools, hospitals and prisons in PNG.
She visited Books 4 PNG Kids in Brisbane in 2024.
Books 4 PNG Kids proudly acknowledges partners Kayop Investment Limited and Maino Lucas for supporting children’s education in PNG.
Kayop Investment Limited
Australian High Commission Papua New Guinea