Matilda Dimo took two years off from teaching to help coordinate the production of an English resource book for her Year 9 students, at a school in the PNG Highlands Province of Simbu.
The book started as handwritten classroom notes in a two-ring binder until it was handed over to the Simbu Teachers Association for further development.
Little did she realise that the PNG Department of Education would nominate her textbook as the preferred English textbook for all Grade 9 English in PNG.
The Australian Government will now purchase the textbooks and coordinate their delivery across the country, as part of its aid program to PNG.
The cover of the textbook features Mt Elimbari, an ominous mountain in the Chuave District of PNG's Simbu Province.
'It is symbolic,' explained Ms Dimo. 'We wanted a picture that told students to strive high, to reach their potential.
'Seeing this printed and on the back of a truck headed for schools has really given us the boost to put into book form texts for grades 10 through to 12,' she said.
All up, Australia will have purchased and delivered 4.1 million textbooks to schools across PNG by 2015.
It is all part of an ongoing strategy to get more children into PNG schools. Half a million maths, language and science texts were delivered last year, and AusAID will support the delivery of a further one million books this year.
This complements the construction of 380 classrooms and 50 teachers' houses and the renovation of three national high schools.
'The delivery of these latest texts is really about PNG teachers achieving something for their country and their students,' said AusAID's Education Counsellor, Peter Coventry.
'This is a good indicator of the partnership approach, with Australia coming in behind PNG and supporting what they are trying to achieve.'
'The long hours, the many nights up have paid off,' said Godfrey Yerua, First Assistant Secretary for Curriculum and Standards with the PNG Department of Education.
'We have shown the outside world, PNG teachers are committed and can do this with a little help.'
It is also a first for a PNG printing firm. Many large printing jobs, especially books are printed off-shore. The 26,350 book order was the most ambitious assignment for the Port Moresby-based Government Printers.
'It's a journey,' said Ms Dimo of the textbook. 'This is just one subject and one grade, but it's a start and we are showing other teachers and other provinces, you can adapt the curriculum for your students and put it into a local context. Yes it's just the start, but it's a good start.'