With their tape guns and boxes, the volunteers at Books 4 PNG Kids are packing and sending out much more than just secondhand books.
Generously donating and travelling to the rural schools of Papua New Guinea, CEO and New Farm local Heather Doonan has a strong passion for building children’s literacy skills.
“If you can get a child reading, who knows the fantastic things they can grow up to do?” Ms Doonan said.
Most schools the organisation donates to have no libraries, or if they do, have a very small amount of books and school supplies.
While living in Fiji with her family, Ms Doonan started reading her children’s books to local kids who didn’t have any themselves, which gave her the idea of donating secondhand books to schools in need.
She said the biggest challenge of delivering the books is shipping them from Australia to Papua New Guinea.
Because of PNG’s mountainous terrain and thick jungles, they use ferries, dinghies, helicopters, barges, and long boats to transport books to the remote schools.
“We don’t want any money, we just want the books to get to the people that need them most,” she said.
Books 4 PNG Kids are always looking for new volunteers as well as any secondhand books that can be dropped to their New Farm drop box at 194 Heal Street.
To join the Books 4 PNG Kids team or find out more, email: [email protected].
