One hundred and twenty more students of inland Baining LLG of the Gazelle District will now have access to Elementary and Primary School education thanks to Digicel Foundation continued investment in education infrastructure with the opening of two new double classroom buildings for the Mandres Primary and Elementary School last Friday.
Each of the four new classrooms can hold up to 40 students.
Mandres Primary was established in 1992, which now has a current enrolment of 210 students, with 8 teachers and single classes from grades 3 – 8.
The feeder school, Mandres elementary school was established in 2004. It has an enrolment of 154 students and 4 teachers.
The schools are two hours outside of Kokopo town, and cater for the 2500+ population of the inland Baining LLG of the Gazelle District.
The two new double classroom buildings were constructed at a total cost of K300, 000. The investment includes double classroom buildings, office space, 60 double desks, two water tanks, four ventilation improved pit (VIP) toilets, four bucket showers and solar lighting.
Mandres Primary School head teacher, Vinavana Bangana, thanked Digicel Foundation and said; “The community of Mandres is so happy that Digicel Foundation has come in to this isolated area and recognized the need for extra and improved school infrastructure. The community has been self-sufficient for too long in looking after the educational needs of their children. It is very encouraging for us to see that our work has been recognized and that we have received new classrooms for our children which will go a long way in developing their future.”
Marina van der Vlies, CEO Digicel Foundation added: “We are delighted to have touched the lives of the people of Baining in Gazelle District in a positive way. Education is the way forward and the area in which we invest as we want to see positive change for the future. We are encouraged by the self-reliance of the community here and are confident that the community will make the most of the investment made in these new classroom buildings”.
Caption: Mandres Primary School students.
