ROTARY CLUBS OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA District 9600
	| Main | Clubs In PNG |

Port Moresby International School Interact Club
The Port Moresby International School (POMIS) Interact Club is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Boroko. Interact is made up of Grade 9 - 12 students aged between 14 and 18 years of age attending POMIS and they meet Mondays at lunch time every second school week. Interact has started the 2009 school year with an enthusiastic group of young "Interactors" who have elected their directors who have decided to continue to support other schools projects. The Interactors will visit and select one or two government primary schools and decide how they can help out. In the past they have provided water tanks and gutters, reading books, desks, paper and other stationery supplies. They both carry out fund raising drives in the school year to fund various projects as well as distributing materials from the Rotary Club of Boroko Donations in Kind (DIK) containers.

The Interact Club's Faculty Advisor is Ms Konio Pala and their Rotary Club contacts are Lionel Melville and new Vocational & Youth Director Jamie Brazier. The interact President and Secretary, together with the Faculty Advisor, are invited to Rotary Club of Boroko meetings to discuss their projects and other activities.

For information about the Interact Club, contact Jamie Brazier
 

Trip to Kwikila... 23 students and 3 teachers from POMIS recently visited the Kwikila Secondary School on the Magi Highway about 150Km from Port Moresby to donate 35 cartons of fiction, non-fiction and reference books donated by Rotary Clubs in Australia and distributed through the Rotary Club of Boroko's Donations in Kind (DIK) project. Kwikila school's library was somewhat depleted of library material so the top-up was really well received by both students and teachers alike! POMIS students were greeted with open arms and spent over two hours at Kwikila. After donating the books, POMIS students were split into groups for a guided tour of the school hosted by Kwikila prefects. Some of the POMIS students' comments reflect the emotions they felt about the thrill of giving... Getting a first hand look at the school was very eye-opening for us... It made me aware of the situation with the unfortunate... They are in dire need of funding and they were incredibly grateful for the donations...but I feel more should be done... Run-down classrooms, under-stocked library but content...and VERY friendly... The trip made me grateful for the things I have at POMIS... The state of the school was pretty poor and we saw that our donation was going to be put to very good use... I enjoyed interacting with students from Kwikila Secondary School I enjoyed the trip but it was sad because they didn't have anything like us... I had a great experience of how students learn in harsh conditions like run-down classrooms. It showed how privileged I am to be at POMIS and how we can contribute in a small way such as book donations... Made me realise how some people make the most of what they have... A very rewarding experience - I learnt about their lifestyle in school and how very different it is in many ways... A worthwhile trip, great experience. The best part was donating the books...it made me feel good inside. I wish I could have stayed longer... POMIS Interact Coordinator Konio Pala commented that POMIS students maintained a happy attitude despite the state of the school. Well done Konio; well done POMIS; well done Interact! Photos from top... 1. The depleted school library! 2. Students unloading the 35 cartons of books - it's all hands on deck for this job! 3. Let's take a quick break before opening the cartons - wow, look at all those cartons! 4. Students were very keen to look over their new books 5. Let the bonding begin. Students from Kwikila expressed their heart-felt thanks to their new friends from POMIS...let's hope these new friends will one day be re-united in the spirit of mutual support and of giving.... Lasting friendships....
Trip to Gaba Gaba ... by Philip Naru of the Port Moresby International School Interact Club The day started pretty slow for me.  Mum had to get me out of bed and into the car and we left the place at around 7.15am.  Once at the school it took a while for everyone to get ready for the trip. By 9:00am most of the team had assembled and we were ready to move out.  We had to split ourselves into three vehicles.  I hopped on with Mr Melville in the bus and we were off. The drive to Gaba Gaba took about an hour and a half.  We passed numerous other villages as we journeyed.   We finally arrived at the village of Gaba Gaba around 11.00am and were greeted on the road by some of the school children who performed a welcoming dance for us (Valleviana, one of the girls, was so excited and stood up through the sun roof to get a better view of the children which I thought it was quite funny). We then made our way into the school where we were greeted by the whole school.  There, the students performed musical and dance items for us and then we handed over the books.  Speeches were given by the president and vice-president of the club and the Head Mistress of the school.  Both emphasised the importance of education and reading. After the speeches were over we were asked to make our way over to a classroom where a feast had been done in our honour.  I felt a bit guilty when serving myself because these villagers had done a lot for us. We then all camped under a tree at a corner of the oval and ate our food.  After lunch some of the students put up the volley ball net and then the games began.  I watched for a while admiring the talent these children had.  It is just like the pro's - dig (from the previous spike), set, spike; dig, set, spike.  It wasn't long before they approached me and asked for a game, which I accepted after a bit of hesitation. Whilst our game was on, some of the girls went on a tour around the village to the beach.  Edward Linsley and I then found ourselves following some of the boys from the school down to the river.  The water was shallow and cool.  We just talked to them about their lives in their villages, where they would go to after finishing primary and their dreams and goals.  These young boys were very mature about their answers and therefore earned my respect.  We skimmed pebbles on the river to see who could get the most numbers of bounces and played in the river.  All us boys didn't have a watch, but somehow we knew he had to get back.  We followed the river back down and then back into the village, where the rest of the team had being waiting.  We shook hands with the students a last time promising that we would definitely come back. The time now was 2.00pm so we drove back.  We arrived back at about 3.30pm with cargoes of food from the village.  Nobody knew what to do with it, so we split it up amongst some of us and the rest went to Mr Melville. Overall I really enjoyed seeing the faces of the students whom were so excited about the books.  It gave me a good feeling inside.  Everyone (the Interact Club students, the Gaba Gaba Village students and other special guests) appreciated it and enjoyed it very much.

Pacific Australia Cultural Exchange (PACE)
Under the PACE programme two students aged between 15 and 17 years, an Interactor and a student from another school, spend four weeks in Australia for the month of January during their Christmas holidays. The students selected will not have had any overseas travel or experience and exchange is a cultural one to show the students how countries and its peoples have wide cultural differences

The students selected by the Rotary Club of Boroko travel to Rotary District 9690 in New South Wales. They spend their first and last weeks with families of District 9690's Sydney Clubs; the second week with families of the Blue Mountains Clubs; and the third week travelling around central NSW and Canberra. The students attend Rotary Club meetings and costs are met by the Rotary Club of Boroko although the students will take their own funds to purchase presents for their families. On their return, students attend a Rotary Club of Boroko meeting to share their travel experiences with the members.

For information about the PACE Programme contact Jamie Brazier

Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA)
RYLA is a one-week, residential Rotary leadership training programme for young people aged between 18 and 30 years of age and focuses on leadership, citizenship and personal growth. The Rotary Club of Boroko sends two to three young people to the RYLA programme run by the Rotary Club of Port Moresby each year. The candidates are proposed by Club members or youth organisations and complete an application form giving their personal details and a statement describing their personal and career goals and how they hope to be of service to PNG during their lifetime. The selected candidates attend a Rotary Club of Boroko meeting on the completion of the course and tell the members about the course and what they have gained by attending.

For information about the PACE Programme contact Jamie Brazier