Foundation’s children go on excursion

Kumura Foundation’s children recently went on a 10-day holiday excursion to Madang.

From June 27th to July 5th, 40 students of Bundi, Gembogl and Asaro, ages 4 to 12, went on a fun-filled educational trip to Madang.

Of the 40 students, 31 are from Bundi and the rest are from Gembogl, Simbu and Asaro, Eastern Highlands Province. The students were accompanied by their four teachers from Simbu, their three chefs of Bundi and the Kumura Foundation team.

The goal of the excursion was to expose these mountain children to a coastal environment and the livelihood there.

The excursion started at Gembogl, Simbu, with a long road trip crossing through Simbu, Eastern Highlands and Morobe.

During the excursion, the students and their teachers stopped over at Ramu Sugar to sightsee around the famous Ramu Beef Farm and the abattoir, the Ramu Oil Palm Factory and the Oil Palm Plantation on their second day of excursion.

On the third day, they arrived at beautiful Madang where they camped out at the spacious waterfront ‘Sugen Aben’ section of the famous Madang Resort, courtesy of Sir Peter Barter.

While at Madang for the next five days, the students and their teachers got to tour the iconic Kalibobo Lighthouse and the Machine Gun beach overlooking the Astrolabe Bay of the Bismarck Sea, accompanied by some history lessons of World Wars I and II.

They were also presented with seven cartons of library books from Phil’s Jolly Learning Centre in Madang to help enhance their learning through reading.

The students then visited the Jais Aben Resort for a swim at their popular bar side beach followed by a treat with ice-cream sponsored by Brett Smith, the owner of the resort. 

“They will not forget the colourful tour of the Brian Bell Home Centre (BBHC) in Madang, including the lunch BBQ hosted by the BBHC Support Squad at Modilon,” said director of the Kumura Foundation, Vincent Kumura.

“During the tour, the children were shown a variety of items sold by the Brian Bell Company at its home centre stores to fund the operations of the Sir Brian Bell Foundation, which then helps fund their excursion to Madang.”

Returning to Madang from Rempi, they toured the BSP Bank in Madang and learnt a bit about the banking business, including savings, withdrawals, loans, and the different clientele that the bank serves.

On July 4th, they left Madang for a road trip up to the Ramu Nickel Mine site at Krumbukari, Lower Bundi, to have a close-up view of what a nickel mine site looks like, including observing the impacts the mine has on the natural environment and the people around the mining impact zone.

The children then rested at Dumpu on July 4th and 5th while engaged in agriculture, farming and fun activities.

They returned to Gembogl, Simbu, on July 6th to begin their Term 3 classes on Monday, July 12th.

Of the 31 students of Bundi, 70 percent of them are orphans while 30 percent are disadvantaged children hailing from the remote villages of Bundi where there is a lack of basic government services such as road access, quality health and education. 

The 31 children from Bundi are currently studying in Simbu as boarding students under Kumura Foundation’s ‘Educating Orphans of Bundi Project’, an initiative they started last year with the support of the Sir Brian Bell Foundation.

Author: 
Press release