BOMAI D WITNE
AUSTRALIAN foreign minister Julie Bishop accompanied by Eastern Highlands Governor Julie Soso and other dignitaries visited the children at the Buk Bilong Pikinini library at the University of Goroka yesterdayafternoon.
The delegation was received by staff, children and parents and two young kids in traditional regalia welcomed Ms Bishop with a song.
I gathered some of the words from my daughter who attends the school: “We are the children from Papua and Highlands and Momase and Islands. We have come to learn for a future and if you have come to be our friends here. We welcome you…”
Ms Bishop was captivated by the song and asked the children to sing it again. After listening, she bent as low as the height of the shortest kid to shake hands and look them in the face.
When it comes to the official speech, she greeted everyone who accompanied her, making special mentioned of Ms Soso and called her, ‘my apo’ - a friendly way of addressing a friend in the Eastern Highlands Province.
Ms Bishop told the gathering that this was the last day of her four day visit to PNG. She visited Bougainville before coming to Goroka.
The purpose of her visit to the BBP library was to launch the Maria Family Book, a project supported by the Australian government.
The foreign minister’s visit to the library reflects the serious commitment of the Australian government in promoting and supporting children’s literacy in PNG. Ms Bishop stressed that it is important for the governments of the two countries to work together to assist young children have access to books.
A literate society is the foundation of self-empowerment and transformation. The children of today are the country’s future and so acquire a solid literacy foundation.
The Australian government has committed K3 million since 2012 to support the work of BBP in its endeavour to promote literacy among the young children of PNG.
Library staff invited Ms Bishop into the library where she spent time reading to the children, while Julie Soso stood at the side and watched.
The Australian foreign minister also spent time outside, shaking hands with parents and interacting with them. The parents and everyone present were overjoyed at meeting Ms Bishop. This was a day most of them would remember.
Mericia Arawi, a student at the University of Goroka whose daughter attended the BBP Library, was full of tears and could not thank the visitors enough for the support. She told me she could not understand why PNG politicians are not serious in promoting a literary culture among children at an early age.
The government elementary school systems lack capacity to prepare a solid foundation for a literary society and the private schools are filling the gap for parents who can afford to pay. It appeared that Mericia was passionate about the importance of early childhood reading and wanted to go on forever so I had to excuse myself.
Ms Bishop encouraged parents to buy and read books to their children and, after being interviewed by a journalist, she left.