By Karen Poh
IT’S the palm-fringed beaches, booming white surf and lush rainforests that draw many travelers to Samoa.
But for Glengala Primary School principal Frank Dri, it’s the small village schools that fuel his passion for returning to the treasured islands of the South Pacific.
A 15-member delegation by staff from Glengala Primary, members of the Sunshine Lions Club and the Rotary Club, travelled to Samoa recently as part of the Samoan Helping Hands Across the Pacific project.
A shipping container load of computers, students’ stationery requirements, bicycles, clothing and more was sent four weeks earlier.
The 13-day trip was paid for by the members themselves and hosted by villagers in their own homes.
Mr Dri said the project began three years ago when an international youth cricket team from Samoa visited Glengala.
“Discussions with them gave me an awareness of what the schools were like in Samoa,” Mr Dri said. “And on my visit there, I realised the poor state of schools, the lack of resources, and so I approached the Lions.
“It was the initiative of Glengala, but it certainly is a local community effort … it’s the nitty-gritty of community that makes things like this possible,” he said.
Thanks to contributions from local businesses, schools, community organisations, family and friends in Brimbank, an estimated $70,000 worth of goods was collected, and a further $4500 donated by the Sunshine Lions Club to cover part of the shipping costs.
Apart from providing assistance with the distribution of goods and meeting the Samoan Lions Club and other community organisations, staff from Glengala will also train teachers to use the computing equipment.
