Gazelle district, East New Britain (ENB) province, has come to the aid of the University of Papua New Guinea East New Britain Students Association (UPNG ENBSA).
The students are currently on school holidays and visiting schools, giving educational talks and donating reading books.
The book drive is a program in partnership with the South Pacific School Aid, who collect books and the freight them to Port Moresby to the ENB Students Association who brings to the province to distribute.
The partnership is into its fourth year and the students have struggled every year with logistics to the travel in the province to donate the reading books.
UPNG ENBSA president Joachim Lolok said this year they attracted the interest of Gazelle MP Jelta Wong who is helping with logistics to transport the books and students to the schools that they visited.
As of Monday this week, the students visited Baliora Primary School, Bitapabeke, Karavia Elementary, Taulil Primary School, Malaguna and Matupit Elementary Schools.
They have donated more than eight cartons of reading books to the schools.
Tomorrow, they plan to go rural in the Lassul-Baining area in Gazelle district, and next week they will travel to visit schools in the Pomio district.
Mr Lolok was appreciative of the help given by Mr Wong and the Gazelle district administration citing that logistics have always been a challenge in their quest to visit schools in the province.
He said their fundraisers including the major one every September, the ENB Night to commemorate the 1994 twin volcanic eruptions are aimed at raising money towards support the book drive.
He said Mr Wong’s input has encourage them to continue to remind students in schools to return to reading books instead of spending so much time on mobile phones.