Kokoda Initiative opens double classrooms and sanitation facilities at Isurava and Abuari villages, Oro Province

Partners of the Kokoda Initiative, represented by Oro Province Governor, Gary Juffa, and Deputy Australian High Commissioner, Bronte Moules, recently attended the opening of new education, water and sanitation facilities and radio network installations at Isurava and Abuari villages in Oro Province.

The facilities will enhance learning conditions for a total of 129 students in the area, and improve health and hygiene practices, while the new radios will enable better communication along the Kokoda Track.

Isurava Elementary School Head teacher, Mrs Lindy Tahima, said: “The new double classroom will provide a better learning environment for our children, where our children will feel safe and comfortable to learn in. I already have more students now than last year, my enrolment for last year was 16 students but it has gone up to 23, I know more children from the nearby villages and hamlets will come to attend classes after this opening.”

The new facilities at each village include: a double classroom, four toilets, four water taps, and a 3,000L water tank. It is expected these facilities will increase local student enrolments for the 16 students at Isurava Elementary School and 113 students at Abuari Elementary School, and improve hygiene practices for the teachers and students.

The newly installed radio units at Abuari and Isurava are part of the Kokoda Initiative’s program to ensure safety and to improve communications along the Track.  Radio units have been installed at 20 additional locations along the Track, from Sogeri to Kokoda.

The Kokoda Initiative is an established partnership between the Papua New Guinea and Australian Governments to protect the Kokoda Track region and deliver services to its communities.  In recent years, under the Initiative, over 50 health, education and water and sanitation facilities have been built or renovated for communities in the Kokoda Track region.