A 7-week school program integrating Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) and well-being awareness into netball skills training in schools in Central Province’s Hiri District is drawing to a close.
A total of 400 students – 200 boys and 200 girls from 10 schools in – five in Hiri-East and five in Hiri-West participated in the program.
The Hamamas Long Pilai Program is an initiative of One Netball PNG – a partnership between Netball Australia, WaterAid PNG and Netball PNG supported by the PNG-Australia Partnership through the Australian Sports Partnership Program (ASPP).
Hiri-West schools included Iobuna Kouba (Sogeri cluster), Porebada, Boera, Papa and Lealea primary schools and Hiri-East schools included Gaire, Barakau, Tubusereia, Seme-Dagoda and Kerekadi primary schools.
Hiri-East schools will complete session 6 when classes resume in week two of term four.
Schools had been selected by the Central Education Division and topics under the life-skills component are in line with the Education Department’s Personal Development curriculum in schools.
The HLP Program utilises netball as a vehicle to deliver Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) outcomes in schools.
Under One Netball PNG, two programs are delivered including the shorter Come and Play and the longer 7-weeks Hamamas Long Pilai (HLP) program.
Both programs are adapted from the original HLP program developed by WaterAid PNG under the Sports for Development program.
Life-skill topics relating to self-confidence, communication, leadership, personal hygiene including hand-washing and menstrual health and practical netball coaching was delivered by 15 professional Netball PNG coaches.
The Hamamas Long Pilai Program was delivered by 14 professional netball coaches twice a week during students’ non-contact periods in the afternoons to ensure limited disruption as much as possible and as per understanding between One Netball PNG and the Central Education Division.
A total of 650 students will have participated in both the Come and Play and the Hamamas Long Pilai by the end of the program.