Tembari’s kitchen project: Volunteers and materials needed

This is the slightly modified container van which was donated to Tembari sometime ago. The center would like to convert this into a proper kitchen space, complete with freezers, refrigerator, cooking gas stoves and storage. – Picture by A P HERNANDEZ, Port Moresby, PNG

By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ

A Friend of Tembari Children

SOMETIME ago, a Port Moresby-based Indian expat-businessman donated to Tembari a slightly converted container van which we earlier intended to use as another classroom for our preschoolers.

However, we decided later that we can use the van for other purposes.

This was because the van has already had minor modifications. For instance, one side of it has been opened up to give way to a wide window while the opposite side was opened to become a door/entrance.

Since until now, we don’t have a proper kitchen where we cook the daily meals of the children – one for snack lunch and one for early dinner – we decided to convert the van into a dirty kitchen. It is part of Tembari’s effort to improve our volunteer-cooks’ working condition.

With this, we can also properly store our cooking utensils and foodstuff from rice, flour and milk which we would receive from donors on occassions.

And not only that, we are also about to receive donations from the Australian High Commission in the form of two medium-size freezer and a refrigerator, high-pressure three burner-cooking gas stove and a lot more.

All of this we could store at the container van-turned-kitchen facility.

At present, daily cooking is done under the sun as we lacked enough space to accommodate the dirty kitchen where we use firewood to cook the meals. Cooking is even more difficult when it rains as our dirty kitchen is simply done in the open.

For this urgent kitchen project, I would like to appeal for materials that would be needed to transform this container van into a modest cooking space.

Likewise, I am appealing for volunteers who are able to work in this project on Saturday, August 27, 2011, at the Tembari center, at Oro Settlement, 7-Mile, just on the other side of the Jackson airport.

For this job on Saturday, we need the following materials: grinder, hammer, drill, welding machine, nails, screws, Philips screw drivers, 8mm plywood sheets (6 pieces), vinyl flooring 13 square meters, five (5) liters of glue for flooring, white paint to coat the exterior and interior of the van, six (6) fluorescent tubes 120cm long; two (2) padlocks; 1mm x 45cm x 60cm steel sheet.

If you think you are able to provide any of these materials, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me on cell phone 722-31984, or office landline 3246-712 (at The National newspaper office).

We need the volunteers to work on the project on Saturday, August 27, 2011, from 8am to 1pm. If prospective volunteers own any of the tools mentioned, please have them with you.

For feedback, please email me at:

ahernandez@thenational.com.pg aphernandez58@yahoo.com

Building plan for Tembari’s preschool classroom

The floor area of the proposed preschool classroom.

The front and back views of the proposed classroom

By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ

A Friend of Tembari Children

WE NOW have an idea of how the proposed pre-school classroom building would look.

As designed by KwikBuilt, PNG’s leading kit home manufacturer, the project would now cost K120,000.

Our previous cost estimate was only K50,000. But the design was so simple such that it would only have a cement floor with iron sheet roofing and plain walls around it, for a total area of 60sqm.

A British-expat-volunteer whom I can’t name here and who has been actively pursuing potential donors and supporters, suggested that we should instead come up with a better-designed-better-built structure, which is what the design (pictured) is all about.

The structure will stand on stilts, but with wider floor area this time (138sqm) to fit with readily-available knock-down parts from KwikBuilt.

With two classrooms, the design of the building is aimed at containing more than 100 preschoolers. (Aside from our early learners, we also have about 79 children in elementary schools, most of them at Wardstrip at Gordons, whose school fees were paid by PNG Children’s Foundation and by an Indian businessman.)

Already, we have started raising funds, and so far we have raised K12,000, an amount which is only 10 per cent of the target cost.

This fund from two donors – the AP Engineering Ltd of Kokopo, East New Britain, and Hugo Canning Co, through its general manager David Slape – has been deposited with Westpac Bank (Waigani) branch under the name of Tembari Children Care. The account number is 6001915787.

The AP Engineering Ltd of Kokopo, East New Britain, was first to respond to my appeal by donating a cheque for K7,000 last December.

Engineer Ariel Parro, APEL managing director, has assured me that he would continue supporting this project. He promised to help us prepare the basic design for the building.

It is important to stress here that the number of children at ATS Oro Settlement needing early education has been growing by leaps and bounds. And Tembari is the only group that so far caters for their needs in this part of the world.

However, the facility is at best what I could describe as “makeshift” classroom despite the presence of two community learning centers (CLs) provided in 2009 by Digicel Foundation to house 78 preschoolers. Now the number of our targeted early learners has grown to close to120.

At the moment, a third of our early learners are holding classes under the mango tree next to the two classrooms fashioned from junked container vans, which have been fitted with necessary fixtures to make for functional classrooms and both serve their purpose well.

Meanwhile, whenever it rained, or there was a threat it would rain, the three teachers had to send home the batch holding classes under the tree. We don’t have enough roofed space at the facility, thus the need to send these kids away just before the downpour.

It’s a pity because almost all of them live across a wide area at the settlement.

For this year, we have lined up at least three major fundraising drives.

For instance, on August 20-27, we intend to hold a fundraising party on a boat (name of the boat TBC as is provided free of charge by a friend, can hold up to 150 people).

And on October 22, the Australian High Commission plans to hold a ball and part of the donations obtained that day would go towards the construction project.

On October 29, we are looking at holding a fundraising dinner at yacht club.

Well, these are some of the activities we at Tembari are hoping to carry out in order to raise the much-need money for our planned preschool classroom.

Of course, we are also tapping other potential donors and those who could donate funds to help defray the cost of our daily operations at The Center. At the moment, we are running on a budget of at least K3,000 a month, plus/minus, drawn from funds raised from donors last year.

For instance, on a fortnightly basis, we spend at least K530 to pay four preschool teachers at K70 each for a total of K280; three cooks at K50 each (K150); and one administrative officer at K100. This doesn’t include other expenses incurred to prepare the daily meals (twice a day) of our beneficiary children, now numbering 180, more or less.

Very soon, the funds we have are bound to run out.

If you think you are able enough to help us with funding, food or materials, please don’t hesitate to do so. This is an opportunity for all of you to support a worthy cause that aims to provide a group of less-privileged children a better life.

Also, if you want to donate towards the preschool classroom project, you can directly credit the fund to Tembari Children's Care (TCC) Westpac Bank (Waigani) account number 6001915787.

Email the writer: ahernandez@thenational.com.pg

aphernandez58@yahoo.com

Appeal for power credit donation towards Tembari’s Esipay meter

The Tembari's Esipay meter number 07 0709 5013 9. Donation of power credit is welcomed.

By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ

A Friend of Tembari Children

WE RECENTLY installed an Esipay meter at The Center.

This means electricity would now be a part of our cost.

Since electricity is one of the most basic items in our lives, after water, we can’t just afford not to really have it and use it sustainably to be able to provide better service to our beneficiary children, now numbering more than 170.

The center, founded in 2003, is having power in its premises for the first time. It was first connected to the power grid at the settlement last April.

Initially, we have estimated that The Center would be consuming at least K50 a month once some basic white goods like refrigerator and freezer become available.

We need these items to improve the storage of our perishable foodstuff that some donors would be sending once in a while. The freezer also would enable us to make ice to chill the cordial drink of the children that goes with their daily meals – noon snacks and early dinner. Of course, the kids would enjoy drinking their water chilled.

We will also have other power-generated facilities like bulbs, computer, printer, DVD player and the matching TV screen.

The DVD player and the TV screen would enable us to introduce our children to various educational programming, something that would greatly enhance their learning process. With this, we would welcome a donation of this type of DVD programs.

I decided to post the picture of The Center’s Esipay as one way to solicit support from readers of this blog.

Maybe, you could help us defray the cost of our electric consumption by buying for Tembari power credits from Esipay outlets (when you are shopping at Boroko Foodworld or RH Hypermart or at Stop n Shop).

The Tembari Esipay meter number is 07 0709 50139 under the name of Tembari Children’s Care (TCC). A K10 credit would go a long way. Esipay load higher than that would be much better as it would ensure us of continuous use of our electrical facilities.

All you have to do is text to me the Esipay power credit you purchased, after which I would forward it to the administrator of The Center. My cell phone number is 722-31984.

Likewise, if you feel you have something to donate to the Tembari children, please don’t hesitate to email me, or call me on my cell phone, or my landline number 3246-712 at my workplace at The National newspaper.

Email the writer: ahernandez@thenational.com.pg

aphernandez58@yahoo.com

Tembari center gets electricity

By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ

AT LAST, the Tembari center will now enjoy the benefits of electricity.

The last process of linking the center to the PNG Power grid at ATS Oro Settlement at 7-Mile outside of Port Moresby came with the installation of an Esipay meter on Thursday, May 19.

Bringing power to, and setting up a water facility at, the center had been the two biggest projects that Rishabh had worked hard on. These were the projects critical in helping improve the day-to-day lives of our more than 170 beneficiary children.

The water tank – a 1,000-gallon container – was installed early this year, courtesy of RH Foundation, and the bulk water supplied by a private contractor to fill it up once a month is being shouldered by fishing company High Energy Co of Port Moresby, one of our regular donors.

The task of linking the center to the settlement’s power grid began about middle of last year when I emailed Eileen Lloyds, PNG Power’s public affairs executive, about the center’s wish to get power service.

As a day care center looking after many children from the village who are orphans, abandoned and neglected, Tembari never had electricity since being founded in 2003 by Penny Sage-Embo.

Ms Lloyds did not waste time relaying my message to PNG Power’s chief executive Tony Koiri.

On the same day, Mr Koiri immediately instructed his managing director John Tangit to start the ball rolling on behalf of Tembari as part of the company’s community service.

The CEO said the power facility would be installed at PNG Power’s cost.

PNG Power needed to erect at least three steel posts to bring the power lines to the center, which is about 400 meters away from the last power post at the settlement. This was done sometime last March.

Now, I did not mind the delays that came with the exercise. I was aware that as a corporate entity, PNG Power also had many financial constraints experienced by many other companies. Such could have contributed to the wait lasting for quite a while.

What is important now is that we got electricity and with it are a number of things that we know would benefit much our children in the long run.

The first thing that I had acquired for Tembari to make use of electricity is a set of personal computer. The PC was a donation from The National newspaper.

With this facility, we can now speed up the process of updating the records of more than 70 schoolchildren and close to 100 preschoolers.

The most important of these records are the individual profiles of our beneficiary children, which have been earlier done in handwriting alongside their school records. Both are now waiting to be processed electronically.

And not to mention important communications that we intended to send to prospective grant-giving institutions, corporate and individual donors.

We have long planned to introduce our preschoolers to educational programs available on DVDs. I am certain that our children have not yet seen such kind of educational entertainment designed to enhance their learning process.

We intend to present a particular show everyday after the noon time snacks that follow their morning classes.

This way, our preschoolers and younger kids would keep themselves busy the whole afternoon watching kiddy shows like Sesame Street, Bananas in Pyjamas and Dora, among many others.

We hope that the exercise would introduce them to many new things that would add up to their everyday learning process.

But this plan would not be possible unless we have a DVD player and a modest TV screen monitor.

It is for this reason that I am seeking assistance to generous individuals who are able to donate to Tembari a set of DVD player and the accompanying TV monitor.

We would also welcome donations in the form of DVDs of children’s programming that your kids had already outgrown with.

Indeed, the coming of electricity to Tembari would finally introduce our beneficiary children to a lot of new things needed in their day to day learning.

On our part, we are doing our best to give them at least a bit of what the rest of fortunate children around the world are enjoying in life.

If you think you are able to help us on this, please don’t hesitate to call me on 722-31984 or 3246-712 or email me at

ahernandez@thenational.com.pg

And lastly, we would like to say: “A LASTING POWER TO PNG POWER LTD!”

For feedback, please email the blogger: ahernandez@thenational.com.pg

aphernandez58@yahoo.com