Thanks to the generosity of many people, we have collected some wonderful materials and resources for use in projects associated with HWC and the Bougainville Women's Forum. These include:
Books, games and teaching resources - kindly donated by JamisonTown Public School library, Stanmore Public School library, and Allen & Unwin. These form the nucleus of a library, and will be used in the Resource Centre and in the Village kindergartens. The village kindergartens are organised and run by women in the villages, to provide early learning for children and give them some preparation for school, which for many children does not begin until they are 7 or 8 years old. Most of the women running these kindergartens are not trained teachers, and the resources available to them are very limited, so these materials will be extremely valuable.
Office equipment and furniture. HWC now has some office space, but needs office supplies and equipment of all kinds, including stationery, ring binders, filing cabinets, printers, ink and paper. We have collected some of these goods but could do with more.
We also have fabric and clothes, a collection of mechanic and hand tools, and paint for the new Resource Centre.
Getting these things shipped to Buka has proved a difficult task, and has taken much longer than we had hoped. For those of us living in Sydney it has been a real lesson in the difficulties faced by people living in remote places.
If you would like to help with the cost, please contact us.
The Hako Women's Collective (HWC) works for the welfare of the Hako community in northern Buka, and in partnership with other women's groups in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, PNG
