The Elizabeth Hannett Library, Nissan Island, Autonomous Region of Bougainville, has officially opened. Two years in the making, a consolidated effort spanning two countries, involving several village communities in Nissan and schools, libraries and churches throughout Northeastern Ontario, Canada.
Students of the St. Anthony of Padua Primary school (104 students and 4 teachers), Tungol Parish and the wider community of Nissan Island, are now enjoying the benefits of a new, fully resourced library and RACHEL-Plus! After the launching of the new library, RACHEL was switched on (without a hitch) and students and parents with smart phones and tablets were able to connect and access its contents!
Nissan Island is only accessible by a 5 hour boat ride from Buka and due to strong winds and rough seas throughout July, we were forced to defer our visit to August which allowed us only 3 days in Nissan. At this stage the students and teachers will utilise their personal devices and 3 computers (donated from libraries in Canada) to access RACHEL but we are happy to say that we have secured 20 computers which will be delivered in the near future subject to the solar system installation. At that point, we will formally announce our donor for the computers and partners for our 2020 projects in the media.
Symone Dawanincura
