On Thursday 7th of October, 2021, the Ambassador of Japan to Papua New Guinea, His Excellency Mr. Kuniyuki Nakahara, was the guest of honour at the Napapar Primary School in East New Britain province, for the opening ceremony of new classrooms funded by the Japanese Government.
In March, this year, the Embassy of Japan, under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP), made available to Napapar Primary School a grant worth up to K271, 616.00 (approximately US$ 79,447) for the construction of 1 x double classroom building aimed at addressing the serious shortage of classrooms due to an increase in the number of students.
Now that the new facilities are completed the school will have a much better learning and teaching environment for the students and teachers.
In his speech, Ambassador Nakahara congratulated Napapar Primary School on its successful completion of the project, adding the remarks below;
“Education is not only a vital tool to acquire knowledge and skills but also an investment for the future development.
Through this project, the Government of Japan is pleased to support the PNG Government’s efforts to improve the education sector.
These classrooms are gifts from the people of Japan.
Please look after these classrooms well, so that they will not only benefit you now but many more who will attend this school in the future, such as your little brothers and sisters, or even your child.
Finally, I sincerely hope that this project will contribute towards strengthening the friendship between the people of Japan and East New Britain and will also contribute towards fostering a partnership between the two countries.
Tenk yu tru, olgeta, and boina tuna!”
Japan, as one of the major donors of the official development assistance for Papua New Guinea, launched GGP in 1989 for the purpose of reducing poverty and helping various communities engaged in grassroots activities.
GGP is contributing to “empowering the people through improved education and life skills” targeted by Papua New Guinea Vision 2050.
As of October 2021, 303 grassroots projects funded by GGP have been implemented through NGOs, local government units and other non-profit organizations including hospitals and schools.
The total grant projects so far amount to K54.2 million (US$19.9 million).