Rotary Club Of Rutherglen "Service above Self"

The Papa School Library Project

The associations between Rutherglen Scotland and Rutherglen Australia go back a long way. For example, after the Second World War the Rutherglen Primary School had a project of sending food parcels to the Primary School in Rutherglen Scotland-we even have a member of our Club who was involved in this and he still has letters of thanks from the School. Thus when Rutherglen Aust Rotary Club was chartered in May 1987 we established a sister Club arrangement with Rutherglen Scotland and a number of our members have visited them. Earlier this year we suggested to Scotland they may like to join us in an International Service Project-they responded immediately leaving us to select the Project. From Brian Murtaghs work on the AusAID Education Infrastructure and Curriculum Material Needs Project Identification Mission he was well aware of the need for library books by primary schools and this was then accepted by the Club as this year's International Service project. Papa School was recommended to us as a deserving recipient and the School was happy to take part in our Project and use the donation to purchase books for the Library. Both Rotary Clubs hope the students will obtain pleasure and learning from the books and wish the School, staff and students all the best for the future.

The school is Papa Community School, about sixty kilometres west of Port Moresby. It is a coastal village in an area not well suited to agriculture. People have food gardens and catch fish which they sell for food and other goods. The main source of income is from those who travel to Port Moresby each day and work in paid jobs.

They have just built a new double classroom with one part set aside as a library. The big need is for library books for the library.