President of Middle Fly River Women’s Association, Charlotte Matthews, was presented with the inaugural PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum award for Outstanding Women’s Contribution in the Resources Industry in 2018.
The award recognises her leadership in development programs for women and children in the Middle Fly Region in Western Province. The award was previously announced at the Mining and Petroleum Conference in Sydney but unfortunately, Matthews was unable to attend.
The award was accepted on her behalf by Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML) Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Peter Graham.
In presenting the award on December 13th in Tabubil to Matthews, OTML’s MD and CEO praised her work in leading the Middle Fly Women’s Association and beneficially applying the 10 percent of Community Mine Continuation Agreement (CMCA) funds reserved for advancing opportunities for women and children.
“It is remarkable that with a little help from Ok Tedi Mining Limited and Ok Tedi Development Foundation, Ms Matthews as leader of the Middle Fly Association has achieved so much in areas such as medical referrals through a Middle Fly Trust, sponsorship of children’s education, launching a credit scheme, promoting small business development, and arranging training in adult and financial literacy,” Graham said.
Matthews accepted the award and said: “We are working in partnership with Ok Tedi Mining Limited and Ok Tedi Development Foundation and will continue to look for new ways to improve the livelihood of our people and communities of the mine impacted areas, especially the women and children.”
In August this year, Matthews gave a presentation on the work of the Middle Fly River Women’s Association at the PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum Community Affairs and Business Development Workshop in Port Moresby.
Her presentation, a first for a CMCA woman leader, was made possible through OTDF. Based on the overwhelming positive feedback to her presentation by industry leaders attending the workshop, Matthew’s was recognised for her outstanding achievement.
The award is the first in the country.
(OTML MD and CEO Peter Graham presenting Charlotte Matthews the inaugural PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum award for Outstanding Women’s Contribution in the Resources Industry in 2018)