Acteus Smiles is proud to share the positive impact delivered at Kama SDA Primary School in Goroka, Eastern Highlands, through our sponsorship of Project Yumi Inc’s Project Skul initiative. Critical educational resources including classroom furniture, books, and teacher materials were delivered directly to students and teachers who needed them most, addressing urgent infrastructure gaps and improving the daily learning environment.
This initiative reflects Acteus Smiles’s commitment to corporate social responsibility in Papua New Guinea and our belief that investing in education is investing in the long-term future of the country.
The Education Challenge in Papua New Guinea
Many schools across Papua New Guinea face significant challenges due to limited access to basic educational resources and infrastructure. For students in communities where families often struggle to afford school materials, the absence of proper desks, chairs, and reading materials creates barriers to learning that extend far beyond the classroom.
These resource gaps affect student confidence, attendance, and long-term educational outcomes. Without a proper seat at a desk, a child cannot focus. Without books, a literacy culture cannot grow. Without equipped teachers, lessons remain limited in their reach.
Kama SDA Primary School in Goroka, Eastern Highlands, was one such school dedicated teachers and eager students working in a space that urgently needed support to match their ambition and potential.
About Project Skul by Project Yumi Inc
Project Skul is a flagship initiative by Project Yumi Inc, a not-for-profit organisation connecting surplus educational resources with schools across Papua New Guinea that need them most. Through Project Skul, high-quality but surplus furniture, books, and teaching materials are recovered, repurposed, and redistributed bridging the gap between resource availability and educational need.
The delivery to Kama SDA Primary School was facilitated by Project Yumi in partnership with Waniati Maternal Waiting Home, with essential transport support provided by Ipi Transport, enabling resources to travel from Lae to Goroka in the Eastern Highlands.
What Acteus Smiles Delivered to Kama SDA Primary School
When the resources arrived at Kama SDA Primary School in Goroka, they immediately began transforming the classroom environment. For many students, something as fundamental as having a proper desk and chair creates a meaningful sense of pride, comfort, and focus during lessons.
Thanks to the sponsorship of Acteus Smiles, the school received:
- 20 classroom desks and chairs giving more students a dedicated, dignified place to learn every day
- 1 teacher desk and chair providing educators with a functional workspace to prepare lessons and support their students effectively
- 1 bookshelf and 5 boxes of books creating a small but meaningful reading corner to encourage students to explore stories and strengthen their literacy skills
Multiple boxes of teacher resources helping educators bring lessons to life and better support student learning in the classroom
Impact on Students and Teachers in Goroka
Together, these resources are helping to create a more positive and engaging learning environment one where students feel supported, teachers feel equipped, and the foundations for stronger educational outcomes can continue to grow.
Acteus Smiles ‘s support has created immediate, measurable change in the classroom, including:
- Improved student attendance and engagement
- Stronger literacy learning conditions through access to books and a dedicated reading corner
- Increased student confidence from having a proper place to learn
- Removal of barriers to learning in a community where many families cannot afford basic school materials
In communities where families often struggle to afford basic school materials, these resources restored dignity in the classroom and opened the door for greater opportunity both for the students who sit at those desks today, and for the generations that will follow them.
Community Recognition and Appreciation
To mark this milestone permanently, a commemorative plaque has been installed in the classroom recognising Acteus Group’s generous sponsorship. This lasting tribute ensures that Acteus’s commitment to improving educational outcomes in Papua New Guinea remains visible to every student, teacher, and parent who walks through those doors.
The school’s leadership responded warmly to the support:
“We extend our deepest gratitude to Acteus Group and Project Yumi. These resources have made a significant difference to our school, creating a more structured, comfortable, and supportive learning environment for our teachers and students.” – School Leadership, Kama SDA Primary School, Goroka, Eastern Highlands
Teachers and parents across the community have expressed appreciation for the partnership, recognising how corporate engagement can directly enhance learning environments, uplift students, and strengthen local communities.
Acteus Smiles’s Long-Term Commitment to Papua New Guinea
By supporting initiatives like Project Skul, Acteus Smiles is not only addressing immediate classroom needs it is making a long-term investment in the future of Papua New Guinea. Access to quality learning environments during the early years of education plays a critical role in student development, confidence, and long-term educational outcomes.
Through Acteus Smiles, our corporate social responsibility foundation, Acteus Group supports local organisations and NGOs across the markets we operate in, with a focus on education and community development. We prioritise literacy as a key to community stability, partnering with schools and community organisations to provide underprivileged children with educational opportunities.
This partnership with Project Yumi demonstrates how collaboration between the private sector and community organisations can create meaningful, sustainable change ensuring that more children across Papua New Guinea have the opportunity to learn in environments that inspire their potential and support their educational journey.
Acteus Smiles‘s sponsorship has delivered measurable, visible, and meaningful impact in Goroka. This is the kind of corporate leadership we believe in: one that directly shapes educational access and long-term opportunity for the communities we are proud to be part of.