We all have experiences that leave a lasting impact on us; some motivate us into become beacons of hope for others.
It is not solely the responsibility of our elected leaders or government officials to support communities in need.
Every Papua New Guinean has a role to play individually, offering care, support, and mentorship in their own capacity to assist their fellow countrymen.
Jennitha Japhetz, the Owner and Managing Director of Island Elegance, firmly believes in the transformative power of education for women.
Having established her own SME two years ago, she has unwavering faith that every skill she imparts to a woman serves as a seed for nation-building.
Japhetz’s conviction drives her to contribute towards empowering women, recognizing that by educating a woman, an entire nation is educated.
Ms. Japhetz embarked on her journey at the Beon Correctional Institute in Madang on Monday, initiating a prison rehabilitation program aimed at empowering inmates through life skills training. The program commenced with an introductory session, emphasizing the significance of life skills as a stepping stone and foundation for personal growth.
Particularly focusing on female detainees, the training serves as a crucial step in providing them with a second chance in life after their time at Beon. On Thursday, Ms. Japhetz extended the training to juveniles, aiming to equip them with the necessary life skills to foster a changed and positive mindset upon their release from prison.
The objective of the training is to enable inmates to reintegrate into society with a transformed perspective and the ability to earn a livelihood genuinely. This initiative is not the first instance of Island Elegance reaching out to support the community. Previously, the local SME supported the Friends of the Hospital in Madang during their hikes up Mt. Wilhelm in Chimbu Province and Mt. Kanagio on Karkar Island, raising funds for vital equipment for the local hospital.
Currently, Island Elegance is actively raising funds to support the fight against cancer in Papua New Guinea. The company specializes in creating meri blouses, T-shirts, laplaps, and dresses using unique designs of their own.
As the country celebrated 47 years of independence, Jacob Kaupa, the owner and managing director of one of the country’s most successful companies has called on every citizen to stop waiting for free handouts from the government.
Kaupa runs the Pacific Corporate Security Limited (PCSL), one of the biggest security companies in the country with over a thousand employees in 7 provinces.
The private businessman started his business in 1997 however it took him almost 4 years to grow the company to what it is today.
Speaking during the company’s independence celebration in Port Moresby, Kaupa bluntly asked why many Papua New Guineans are still waiting for politicians for free handouts.
“Can we depend on the government and our elected leaders to solve our problems? We have waited for 47 years and are still waiting. How long can we wait for the government to create an enabling environment for citizens,” Kaupa said.
He shared from his experiences that nothing is free and in order to better ourselves, we have to do things ourselves.
“Use your employment as a transition point into starting your SME. You can do this by developing a savings culture, even if it means saying no and postponing cultural obligations,”
“Diversify your investment, pay off your debt and stop living on borrowed money. Learn how to budget and live within your means,” Kaupa said.
He said the right formula to be successful in these areas is to surround yourself with the right people.
“Spend more time with people who will add value to your life. Spend more time with people who will encourage you to achieve your dreams. I have tried it and it worked and I am sure it will work for you,” Kaupa said.
Mr Kaupa (left) was presented the 2022 Divine Word University Alumni of the Year Award. Picture – PCS Facebook Page
Rabaul District is preparing to host the 26th Anniversary of the Twin Volcanic Eruption during the 2022 Frangipani Festival.
This year’s anniversary will begin on September 16th with an independence anniversary flag raising ceremony and later a kanu race.
Susie McGrade, a member of the ENB Organizing Committee says this year’s theme is, “Bringing ENB Communities together”.
On Saturday 17th September 2022, locals will prepare to wave up early to watch the Tolai Kinavai Festival on the shores of Simpson’s Harbor.
This will be followed by the Annual Float Parade around Rabaul Town, themed “Rabaul Re-bot, Rebooting ENB Culture.
These celebrations will be inline with the country’s 47th independence this September.
Once the sun sets, the crowds will be memorized by the Baining Fire Dance.
“The Frangipani Festival is a public event, we are proud to be able to present ceremonies like the Kinavai and Baining Fire Dance without charging any admission fees,” Susie McGrade said.
McGrade added that the festival is a grassroots event managed by a group of dedicated volunteers and financed through generous sponsors. Proceeds raised will go to the Rabaul Museum.
Meanwhile registration is now opened for the annual Frangipani Float Parade and prizes will be awarded to the most creative float parade.
The tourism is a very lucrative industry that has the potential to provide much needed revenue for Bougainville while promoting Bougainville’s cultural heritage.
Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama made this statement during the opening of the 2022 Siwai Cultural Show at Panakei, Siwai District, South Bougainville today.
The opening ceremony showcased many cultural groups from South Bougainville as well as a group from North Bougainville who are taking part in the two day event.
“While we are aware of the investment opportunities that the tourism industry will provide for Bougainville we must also promote and protect our cultural heritage which is our identity,” President Toroama said.
“Our cultural heritage is our identity as a people who are unique and blessed with abundant resources,” President Toroama said.
“As we prepare for independence and sovereignty we must recognize ourselves and the journey that we have travelled to arrive where we are today,” President added.
President Toroama pledged to assist the Siwai Cultural Show to ensure it continues to promote Bougainville’s unique cultural traditions.
President Toroama also congratulated the Member for South Bougainville Timothy Masiu for his continued patronage of the annual event.
Mr Masiu said that he has plans to expanding the event throughout South Bougainville and to involve North and Central Bougainville.
He said through events like this Bougainville has the opportunity to raise more internal revenue for the government and promote peace in the communities.
The 2022 Siwai Cultural Show was officially opened by President Toroama and the Member for South Bougainville Timothy Masiu.
It’s no secret that the 2022 mid-year pacific test between the PNG LNG Kumuls and the Vodafone Fiji Batis would be David Mead’s last representative match in the Kumuls Jumper.
The lad from Tubusereia in the Central province of Papua New Guinea has been a reliable back in the Kumul ranks; at center-wing or fullback Mead has always cherished each moment he donned the yellow and red V stripe jersey.
What an achievement 15 caps for the country, many memories to share of each encounter as a kumul; in a recent correspondence with Inside PNG, Mead was grateful enough to share some of his thoughts on his career and the Kumuls moving forward.
“Nearly all games for the Kumuls have been highlights. My debut was a special one because it opened my eyes to new possibilities. The game against Fiji on the weekend to finish off my international career was beyond words. It is still sinking in,” Mead told Inside PNG.
While Mead has left the Kumuls at the age of 33 he is optimistic of the Kumuls future; the team showed they are relentless against any opponent, being underdogs against Fiji was a challenge at first but they persevered.
“The Kumuls have got a great squad leading into the world cup. There is a good mixture of experience and youth in the team now. I’m sure there will be a few new faces which I am excited to see put on the jersey,” Mead added.
Mead has ended his Kumuls journey and having a long career at the professional level of rugby league in the NRL and in Super League, Mead is slowly winding down on his rugby league career at this level, a decision he is likely to make very soon.
“At this stage it is looking very likely that I will finish up after this year. My desire to continue playing is very small. I will make a decision sooner rather than later,” Mead said.
Like past Kumuls, Mead is patriotic about Papua New Guinea and would be a great asset to the Kumuls program; he could join the ranks of Stanley Tepend, Paul Aiton, John Wilshire, David Westley and Tommy Butterfield who are currently part of the Kumuls Coaching and Administrative staff, he may be contemplating it but it is still yet to be confirmed.
“At this stage I haven’t had discussions with anyone yet concerning a position with the Kumuls. I will help out rugby league in PNG regardless of a role with or without the Kumuls,” Mead said.
While he is winding down on his NRL career he says the performance of his Kumuls teammates not in the NRL is right up there with expectations in first grade football.
“There are several players in the Kumuls side that played on the weekend who are more than capable of playing in the NRL every week. NRL clubs would greatly benefit from having them in their squads,” Mead said.
“It’s been a great journey with the PNG Kumuls. It means everything to me and my family. Whenever I put on the jersey I think of all the time my mum and siblings drove me to training and games. Without them I wouldn’t be there.”
These were the words of PNG LNG Kumuls Captain, David Mead as he prepares to make his last appearance in the red, black and gold colors against Fiji in tonight’s Pacific Test between the PNG Kumuls and the Fiji Batis in Australia.
Lady Shilda arrived at the shores of Madang on the 18th of June 2022 after a seven-hour voyage from Lae, Morobe Province.
Lady Shilda is a Sea Ambulance that will serve the people of Madang.
This boat came at a cost of K700,000 and will relieve the burden of Medical Evacuation costs faced by MaPHA.
Director for Curative Health Services, Dr Juith Gawi during the reception of the Ambulance at Madang Resort Jetty said that Lady Shilda will help all six districts of Madang Province.
Dr Gawi also thanked the Chief Executive Officer for Madang Provincial Health Authority, Mr Fidelis Waipma for the initiative.
It is difficult to separate Sir Peter Barter from tourism, PNG Politics, and Madang, amongst many other things. As tributes flooded social media after Papua New Guinean’s learned of his passing, many referred to Late Sir Peter Barter as the ‘Lighthouse’.
Many wrote about the nature of his character – a humble giant of a man whose contributions to Papua New Guinea stretched beyond the confines of the province he made home.
A young Peter Leslie Charles Barter came to Papua New Guinea in the late 1950’s as a volunteer pilot with the Franciscan Mission in Aitape. This was his first job after completing his pilot training at the Newington College from 1952 to 1955.
He moved on to becoming a commercial pilot with Territory Airlines, which later became TALAIR. While working with the airline, he established Talco – the company’s tourist division.
His passion for PNG tourism even before independence was evident. Sir Peter made a mark by attracting major international tour operators, who brought their clients to Papua New Guinea. This was the birth of PNG’s tourism industry.
Just after independence started the Melanesian Tourist Services PTY LTD by purchasing Talco’s assets and later on acquired the old Hotel Madang which developed over 40 years – now known as the Madang Resort.
His contributions to the tourism industry, through the MTS were immense. Over the years, countless number of tourists visited the country to experience PNG aboard the Melanesian Discover and the Kalibobo Express.
In the 1980’s he established the Melanesian foundation, which created an avenue for passengers to donate funds to various projects in the rural villages they visited. These funds were used to build rural clinics, school desks, and the maintenance of Catholic and Lutheran church run health centers.
His support for the industry extended to the Divine Word University, where he contributed towards the development of the Tourism program. Many of the students gained practical experience through Sir Peter’s assistance.
Sir Peter Barter seated next to Dame Carol Kidu in Parliament House
Sir Peter moved into the political limelight in 1992 when he was elected as the regional member for Madang. He started off in the opposition and was later appointed Health Minister.
After the reform in 1995, he took up the Madang Governor’s post and was later asked by then Prime Minister Julius Chan, to take up the Provincial Affairs and Local Level Ministry.
He returned to doing business in 1997, and was re-elected into parliament in 2002 as the Madang Governor. Sir Peter, who by now had been knighted, was appointed Minister for Health and Bougainville Affairs.
As the Bougainville Affairs Minister, he was faced with the mammoth task of building trust and relationships between the government, as well as the ex-combatants who were in different factions of the civil war, and overall to bring peace and secure resources to provide essential services to the island.
In a condolence message given by the Autonomous Region of Bougainville’s President Ishmael Toroama, he described Sir Peter as a peacemaker who helped secure peace on the island during the most riotous years in the 1990’s.
“He contributed tirelessly to the peace process and played a leading role in laying the very first foundations of the Autonomous Bougainville Government. Prior to the formation of the ABG on June 15, 2005 he was in Bougainville to assist with the elections and to ensure there was a smooth transition to autonomy.”
Even after retiring from politics, Sir Peter kept a close watch on Bougainville’s progress and maintained relations with the former President Dr John Momis and Bougainville leaders.
In 2002, while ushering peace on Bougainville, problems were brewing in the Southern Highlands. As the Inter-government Relations Minister, Sir Peter had to deal failed elections in the province.
There was an inflation of electoral rolls, controlled voting, and counting of votes by force or threat was seen in much of the province during the general election. As a result, no provincial governor was elected and Sir Peter was given overall authority of the Southern Highlands Province.
His task was to coordinate with the Electoral Commission, the provincial administration, and the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) to prepare and run supplementary elections.
With an interim administration, Sir Peter rallied support from key community groups which led to the successful disarmament process in the province.
In a piece published by the Masalai Blog in 2014, Sir Peter Barter reflected on these events saying, his responsibilities involved rebuilding trust, which is basic to peace, democracy, and good governance.
In his term in parliament, he also Acted as the Minister for Finance, as well as the Acting Governor General at one point.
Sir Peter was a close acquaintance of the Late Grand Chief, Sir Michael Somare – a friendship forged over 50 years long before Sir Peter entered politics.
UN Women under its ‘MERI’ Project has provided the opportunity for vendors in Vanimo to realize that by working together they can make a difference and address issues affecting them at the micro level. This has led to the establishment of the Vanimo Urban Vendors Association.
The association will partner with the Vanimo Urban LLG Division for Trade, Culture and Tourism, the Division for Community Development and the Vanimo-Green River DDA. The 3 year partnership aims to build the capacity for market vendors, improve market security and facilities and also provide training for income management and security.
Yesterday, over 200 vendors turned up at the Vanimo Warakongkong Market facility to elect the association’s 1st executive committee. The event was facilitated by the Vanimo DDA and UN Women representatives.
Acting Program Manager for Community Development Elijah Kilis challenged vendors to embrace the opportunities given to develop their individual capacities in terms of managing their micro businesses.
“The Association must work closely with the District Commerce Office, District Community Development and the SME Corporation to have all its members participate in the Start Your Business Training and Improve your Business Training. You must empower yourselves,” Kilis said.
With the Informal Economy Policy of the National Government in place, Vanimo Town Manager Barry Dikmop said this initiative will align with local plans to drive its implementation. He said the policy seeks to empower and regulate the informal economy and this association is a step in the right direction. Dikmop added Vanimo Urban LLG will partner the UN Women ‘Meri’ Project to create a conducive environment for SMEs to grow.
Director for Commerce in West Sepik Ian Tonte stressed on the importance of working in partnership. He also stated a SME Incubation Centre will be set up in partnership with the SME Corporation and the Department of Commerce Trade and Industry. The centre once established, will be a training and financial start up hub for small businesses in Vanimo.
Many people with cataract problems in Papua New Guinea (PNG) have not been able to seek professional treatment because of the inaccessibility of the service in most centres around the country. East Sepik Province (ESP) has one of the highest numbers of cataract patients.
Without a residential ophthalmologist at Boram General Hospital in Wewak, many patients are referred to the Fred Hollows Foundation Eye Clinic at the Modilon General Hospital in Madang and the Goroka Eye Unit at Goroka Base Hospital in Eastern Highlands Province. However, not many go for cataract operations because of the costs involved in traveling to another centre to receive professional treatment.
Recently, a team of specialist ophthalmologists in the country conducted a two weeks cataract outreach clinic in Maprik district, ESP upon invitation by the Boram Eye Clinic and Callan Services. The outreach was an answered prayer for those with cataract problems in the province. The outreach came about as a result of cataract screenings which has been ongoing for the last two years in the province to identify patients with cataract. The outreach was made possible by the partnership between non-government organizations and provincial health authorities in the country.
The cataract outreach team is made up of four ophthalmologists; Dr. David Pahau, Dr. Kerek Apisai, Dr. Magdalene Mangot and Dr. Waimbe Wahamu, with support staff from Callan Services Inclusive Eye Health, Callan Services Maprik, Fred Hollows Foundation, Boram Eye Clinic, Port Moresby General Hospital Eye Unit and the Goroka Eye Unit.
According to Cataract outreach team leader, Senior Ophthalmologist Dr. David Pahau of the Fred Hollows Foundation, eye care in PNG is at the bottom of the list and mainly overlooked.
Many people with cataract do not get the treatment they need because there is none available to them. That is why the outreach was initiated for the team to travel to rural areas and provide the services to the people. Callan Services Maprik Program Coordinator Chanel Luwe stated that the outreach was important and timely because it brought services right to the people in the rural areas, who for years have not had the access to eye care.
Brigiti Community Health Centre, a rural centre located ten-minutes outside of Maprik town became the sight restoration centre as patients flocked in numbers to received treatment. They erected shelters outside the health centre and made camps while waiting to get treatment. Majority of the cataract patients recorded were from Maprik district while others came from Yangoru-Saussia, Wosera-Gawi, Drekikir, Lumi, Nuku, Angoram and Wewak.
The team noted that the number of patients coming to the centre was increasing by day. The outreach was scheduled for two weeks, however, with the increasing number of patients coming from districts within the province and patients’ backlog, the team extended the outreach for another week to ensure they treated all the patients.
The team screened over a thousand patients with an estimated number of 400 patients undergoing eye surgery. “Our expected target was 300 successful operations by the end of the outreach. But we have exceeded that target and by the end of the third week of the outreach, we would have treated over 500 patients”, Dr. Pahau said.
Damien Sungu, Officer in Charge of the Goroka Eye Clinic said “From the cataract screenings, we were able to determine the severity of the cataract in patients. Those with more severe problems were given priority for eye surgery”. The ophthalmologists performed 30-40 operations daily and a cataract operation takes about 15-20 minutes. The ophthalmologists were praised for their dedication as they worked late into the night and on some days ended the clinic at around 2-3 AM in the morning.
Many patients with complete blindness had their sights restored. Some have been living in the dark for almost a decade until recently. They were emotional and ever grateful for the doctors, the support staff and the organizations committed to the work of restoring sight to those without vision.
The main challenge the team faced during the first week of the outreach was electricity. Without electricity at the health centre, the doctors were not able to perform operations. Maprik District Health Manager Mr. Raymond Pohonai in addressing the challenges said they were able to solve the issue so the doctors could carry out surgeries.
The cataract outreach was a partnership between Callan Services National Unit for Persons with Disabilities (CSNU), Christian Blind Mission New Zealand (CBM NZ), East Sepik Provincial Health, Eastern Highlands Provincial Health, Western Highlands Provincial Health, Fred Hollows Foundation, Maprik District Health and the Department of Health.
The bigger support for the cataract clinic came from The Network of Callan Services for Persons with Disability through its funding partnership with Christian Blind Mission New Zealand (CBM NZ). NZ Government Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (MFAT) objective under the Manaaki (“Uplifting mana, through listening, supporting and empowering”) fund is to reach the vulnerable and marginalized people and groups. This was achieved through this activity.
Callan Services Inclusive Eye Health Coordinator Br. Desmond Taboeya when acknowledging the partners said “With good collaboration and partnership in all sectors, we can do more in eye care in PNG”. He encouraged collaboration and partnerships for more successful eye clinics in the country while Mr. Luwe advocated for inclusivity in eye care.
The team of doctors intend to do another eye clinic outreach in Eastern Highlands Province in the near future.
