Sanananda Elementary School students graded A+

Life is slowly returning back to ‘normal’ in the northern beaches of Papua New Guinea.

After a COVID-19 induced hiatus, school has resumed in Oro Province and the children of Sanananda Elementary School have happily headed back to class. The PNG Department of Education has put strict guidelines in place to minimise the risk of community transmission among the children and teachers, so hand-washing and mask-wearing are new lessons added to the curriculum.

KTF teacher, Pearson, has introduced new topics for the children, including good hand hygiene practices and keeping a safe distance in class and moving around the school.

Pearson has been able to use hygiene kits and awareness information shared as part of KTF’s COVID-19 response. Pivoting existing health, education and livelihoods projects, we used established networks developed via delivery of Healthy Communities, PNG Schools, Teach for Tomorrow II and Strongim Meri Bisnis projects to disseminate COVID-19 awareness information and assist with supplies to our aid posts, supported schools and colleges.

Pearson is also a student at our Kokoda College, supported by DFAT’s ANCP and the PNG-Aus Partnership, and as a result has participated in ongoing COVID-19 training and education sessions.

The kids at Sanananda Elementary School have proven fantastic students, doing a great job of practicing hand washing and mask use. We think they deserve an A+ for good hygiene practice!