REAP needs rooms

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 240, 19 April 1988, Page 17

REAP needs rooms

New premises for R.E.A.P. are desperately being sought in the Waimarino. Ohakune resident visiting teacher Judy Doyle said the organisation is "quite* desperate" to find an office, either in Raetihi or Ohakune which is central to the town. Nevertheless, the Rural Education Activi-

ties Programme is alive and well in the Waimarino. R.E.A.P. was formed in 1978 to provide an education package forall sectors of the rural community. I he Taihape/Ruapehu R.E.A.P. organisation covers everything from the pre-school sphere of education through to Adult and Community

education. The boundaries are the catchment areas for T aihape and Ruapehu Colleges, taking in Taihape, Waiouru, Raetihi and Ohakune. R.E.A.P. is one of thirteen similar programmes established by the Department of Education. The organisatioi; is administered by

a management committee of 18 representatives of community and educational groups, including primary and secondary school teachers. The committee meets every two months to formulate ideas for overcoming the educational disadvantages that rural communities suffer because of isola . tion. R.E.A.P. 's present office in Ohakune is the former Carter Holt building, owned by Turoa. The building houses the area's visiting teacher Judy Doyle, community pre-school worker Mary Parsons and community education officer Liz Mortland. The group is currently looking for suitable premises in either Ohakune or Raetihi as their lease expired on April 1. Mrs Doyle said the organisation is undergoing some serious self-evaluation before it is granted statutory status. "Once we have status, R.E.A.P. will become an ad-hoc body", she said.