Makata donates library books to schools, communities, and churches

The Dibor community within the GILDIPASI region in the north coast of Madang in Papua New Guinea (PNG) have been one of the few communities within our turtles protection and restoration sites who have recently benefited from cartons of library books donated to them by Cathy Edmund's family, friends and the reading club of the Port Moresby International School also in PNG. Efforts towards improving literacy level at the community level is of paramount importance for our indigenous people. With increased literacy level they can be educated, empowered, enlightened and take on pro-active roles in managing their resources sustainably to improve their livelihood.

We continue to supply library books not only to schools, communities within the project sites but to those in need. In 2011 we donated 20 cartons of books to Karkum village, one of the communities that has established its marine protected areas to protect the critically endangered leatherback turtles and another 20 cartons of books to Saint John's Parish at Tokara in Port Moresby, thanks to donations received from the World Bank.

Should you be interested in donating library books to our schools,communities, churches or any vulnerable groups of people within the society, please contact us on magun.wences@gmail.com or call us on +(675) 71959665. We remain committed to be the vehicle to serve those in need in the rural and urban areas that still needed social and environmental justice.

Karkum's saving leatherback turtles

Project site map

Project location:

Our project site is located on the northwest coast of Madang about 70 to 100 kms from Madang town in PNG. This project involves the communities of Karkum, Mirap, Tokain 1 (Yadigam), Tokain 2, Magubem, and Kimadi comprising of more than 3,000 people.

Although this location does not boast of having the highest number of leatherback turtles frequenting its beaches when the project was first established compared to the Huon coast project in the Morobe Province, PNG covering the villages of Paiawa, Kamiali, Buli and Labu Tale, it remains to be the first model site for establishing a turtle conservation project using a locally managed marine area (LMMA) using conservation deed (CD).

Project Description

Our project may not be the largest and “sexiest” compared to the Huon coast, in Lae Morobe Province, PNG, but we have made an impact in that we have transformed the mindset of a people that once habitually killed leatherbacks and harvested their eggs for consumption.

These communities have appreciated the values of the species and are now protecting and restoring them. But that is still not sufficient. We know that more needs to be done if we are to achieve an overriding objective of this project in determining the nesting population size and developing management strategies for each of the communities engaged in this project.