Gita Korimbo, who grew up in the small village of Goroke in the Papua New Guinea highlands, was the first recipient of a Leigh Vial Memorial Scholarship.
That scholarship program is funded by Mr Vial’s nephew Brian Vial from Benalla.
To say she has taken that assistance and made a great life for herself would be somewhat of an understatement.
With the help of the scholarship, Ms Korimbo finished secondary school and then completed an engineering degree at the PNG University of Technology in Lae.
Ms Korimbo now works with Oceaneering, a contractor to Exxonmobil, the oil and gas giant.
Last week she visited Benalla to find out more about the town, and the people who helped her.
“Learning English is critical to getting a good education and as I know, an education provides opportunities not otherwise available,” Ms Korimbo said.
“Unfortunately, whilst education is free in PNG, we still lack fundamental resources such as books.
“The books sent from Benalla have been distributed to many isolated villages and the gratitude of the locals is overwhelming.”
Bill Sykes, who assists Brian Vial with the project, said it was very rewarding.
“Gita is a glowing example of the success of the scholarship project,” Dr Sykes said
Having enjoyed the benefit of a good education, Ms Korimbo wanted to thank the people of Benalla and District who have sent several pallets of books to the Highlands of PNG.
People in Benalla involved with the book project include book suppliers Salvos, Vinnies, Red Cross, the Baptist Church and Yooralla Op Shops.
Geraldine McCorkell, Rob McLean and Katrina Bailey sort and pack books in boxes provided by Kristy at Treasure Hunter.
Neil Chanter from ACF Seeds packs and wraps the pallets for transport.
Ms Korimbo also caught up with Allan and Val Stafford and Austin Hazeldene, who along with others, support a micro loan project for women in the Southern Highlands and Enga province, who have struggled since the Porgera Mine closed, leaving them with a heavily contaminated environment and no income.
She also has a strong interest in politics and took the opportunity to accompany Nationals candidate for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, on a street walk.
Ms Korimbo said Australian elections were much different from what she experienced back home.
“This is so different to electioneering in PNG where unfortunately violence and corruption occur too often,” she said
“I enjoyed being with Annabelle as she engaged comfortably with people and listened to their concerns”.
Dr Sykes said he looked forward to following Ms Korimbo’s journey.
“I believe she would make an excellent politician should she choose to do so,” Dr Sykes said
Leigh Vial was a coast watcher during World War II and local people protected him from the Japanese, which motivated Brian to set up the scholarship program.
More than 50 scholarships have since been awarded.