More children attending the Tigibi Elementary School in the Southern Highlands Province will now be able to receive vital learning in a friendly and enjoyable environment thanks to the launch of a double classroom by the Digicel Foundation today.

This launch marks Digicel PNG Foundation’s 31^st elementary school double classroom project launched so far nationwide.

The double classroom was launched in the presence of the Tigibi Community, school children and invited guests.

This is the first elementary school classroom project to be funded in the Southern Highlands Province by the Digicel Foundation. To date, two primary school classroom projects have already been constructed by Digicel Foundation within the Province.

The steel kit structure double classroom was funded at a cost of K85, 000 and includes office space, 20 new double school benches, school black boards, a water tank and two pit toilets.

Situated about 300kms outside Mendi Town, the school was established in 2004 and is a Catholic Church agency school. There are more than 200 students enrolled at Tigibi Primary School and it has five teachers for its five classes. The school has one bush material and two semi permanent classrooms with just iron sheeting for the roof, a bamboo wall and bare ground. Due to the lack of classroom space the Elementary Prep and Elementary 1 classes are forced to sit outside in the open at times.

The Tigibi Community, comprising of a population of more than 3,000 people, is very supportive of the school and have funded and built the existing classrooms themselves without any donor funding. Following the launch today, the Tigibi community are the proud owners of their first permanent double classroom.

Speaking at the launch, the Principal of Tigibi Elementary School, Thomas Andama said; “This is a historic day for us. We have been using bush material classrooms until today. This is our first permanent double classroom. Our teachers and students can’t wait to start the new school year in their brand new classrooms. Digicel PNG Foundation’s funding of this permanent double classroom is a timely donation for the school, our students and teachers and the community as a whole. We can’t thank you enough.”

Tigibi Elementary School is an outstanding example of community ownership, with community members engaged in building all the classrooms at the school voluntarily.

Beatrice Mahuru, senior program manager of Digicel Foundation said; “We endeavor to target and support communities, such as Tigibi. We are delighted to support their achievements and commitment through the provision of better resources and school structures such as these double classrooms and we take the opportunity to wish them all the very best for the next academic year.”

To date the Digicel Foundation has funded 131 community based projects covering 20 provinces in PNG and put K8 million back into marginalized PNG communities which has directly impacted more than 100,000 people. The Digicel Foundation plans to continue the funding of community projects in the area of basic education and health aiming to support communities as they become more self-reliant in the future. 

 ENDS