Archer reignite grants

2019-20: Salamaua Community Market

Bringing together an architect, a social worker and an economist with a passion for their community, the inaugural Archer Reignite Grant brought to live the Salamaua Community Market, an initiative of Archer alumni Jetta Caleb, Raylance Mesa, Joshua Sialis, Len Awinup and Jimmy Kiso.

The team, comprised of Archers from 2011 to 2018, conceptualised the project in December 2019 and were responsible for every step from design to implementation. With the global pandemic disrupting plans time and again, the team put their adaptive leadership learnings into action, showing great resilience to overcome any challenge or setback to bring their vision to life in a village nestled between the mountains and the sea on the coast of Morobe Province.

The marketplace’s official opening was cause for great celebration, of the market itself and the incredible community collaboration that built it. The project brought together communities, councillors, school, church and community leaders; it generated local employment for carpenters and the sawmill; and solar lighting was donated to illuminate the market and surrounds. The final result is a purpose-built space for women who travel far from the surrounding region to sell a range of goods they harvest and make, including fish, market produce, clothing and bilums. It provides a safe location out of the tropical weather elements, generating income for the women and ultimately providing improved economic, health and education opportunities for their families.

2021: Digitally Empowering Children to Read

An exciting e-learning initiative is bridging the digital divide for students at Warangoi Elementary School in Pomio District, East New Britain Province.

The project is an initiative of Archer Leaders Development Program Alumni from 2016 to 2019: Jeremy John, Lydia Dimokari, Perryson Miori, Joshua Kamilo and Evangelista Apelis. The team were awarded the second Archer Reignite Grant to bring their community project concept to life.

Scoping the project in December 2020, the team were responsible for every step from design to implementation, culminating in the delivery of an electronic learning library of 40 tablets and 200 solar lights on 22 September 2021.

The projects aim is to bridge the digital divide for students in rural East New Britain, increasing access to a broad range of reading resources while familiarising them with technology that is becoming an ever-increasingly integral part of our daily lives.

Warangoi Elementary School is the largest elementary school in the Pomio district of East New Britain with five teachers delivering classes to 200+ prep, grade 1 and 2 students, aged 5-11. The school, one of the oldest in the district, operated without a working library for decades. It has now catapulted into the digital age with delivery of their library.

Developed by Australian organisation Library For All, the Sparks Digital Library Kit is a ready-made digital library which is designed to suit different children’s reading levels. The library consists of 40 tablets preloaded with 700+ books, the majority written by PNG authors. The team upskilled teachers on library operation for integration into their lessons.

While the digital library kit boosts learning at school, to assist students to study and do homework at home when the sun sets, 200 students also received hand-held solar lights, provided by Australian organisation, SolarBuddy.

Community Kickstarter: Haisi Library & Literacy Centre

The Haisi Library and Literacy Centre was an initiative founded and facilitated by Archer Leader, Eleanor Maineke. Eleanor worked with a local community in Arawa in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville to undertake library infrastructure and maintenance, and source a regular supply of literary books. Eleanor now runs two literacy programs out of the library – one for children attending the local elementary and primary schools, and one for adults in the region. The library and literacy centre provides a much needed service to the region which was ravaged by a 10 year civil war resulting in an entire generation of Bougainvilleans being excluded from the formal education system. Eleanor is passionate about looking to the future and ensuring education is a main priority for all people of Bougainville.