children

Olivia Warome was sentenced to prison last month where she is serving a sentence of 9 years.

The 30-year-old from Watabung village in Daulo district, Eastern Highlands, left behind two children to go serve her sentence.

She has a six-month-old infant currently in her care at Bomana however, she is raising concerns about her other children.  

She said most times the children they leave behind have their rights breached.

“They are not going to school, maybe they are not eating well,” stated Warome.

These innocent victims of crimes committed by their mothers spend up to three years in jail until they are released back into the communities with families.

They eat what is basically served to older inmates – a diet that consists of staple foods. 

The Bomana correctional institute outside the nation's capital is no different.

With a female population of 30, it currently has two toddlers under the age of 3 who are under the care of their convicted mothers.

Nutritionist Sr Dani Aiva Stocks, from NCD Health Services, says this is a direct impact of the rise in prices of goods and services, greatly affecting mothers and children in marginalised communities.

Small urban clinics like the Gordon Health Centre attend to 24 malnutrition cases per month while major hospitals such as Gerehu and Kaugere record more.

The charity organisation today had a small Christmas party, gifting the kids with early Christmas presents.

These are children exposed to HIV and or living with HIV.

The foundation provides support for this group of population.

This event was made possible through a donation by the Gordon’s International School.

Earlier this month, the school hosted a Christmas carol event, a fundraiser which raised about K20,000.

All these proceeds were given to the foundation.

However, they still lack the voice on a national platform, says Anna Solomon, secretary for Religion, Youth and Community Development 

Solomon said ending violence was important for the benefit of the children.

“Focus on children now,” she said.

“Mothers, stand strong…we have a right to a safe home and the children have a right to a healthy mother,” she added.

She noted too many school fights, systems and alcohol abuse affecting the whole nation.

According to Susu Mamas, PNG still has one of the highest mortality rates for children under five years of age in the Western Pacific Region.

Susu Mamas is a registered national non-government organisation providing free integrated primary health care services, including maternal and child health services in a number of urban health facilities and mobile rural outreach services.

But choking wasn't the cause, according to a case studypublished Wednesday in the journal Pediatrics.

The terrifying incident had a much more unlikely cause, according to Dr. Isa Ozyilmaz of Mehmet Akif Ersoy Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Training and Research Hospital in Istanbul.

Using NAPLAN test results of 5,000 year 3 students, researchers from the University of Melbourne found the delays were equivalent to a child missing about 35 days of a school year.

Melbourne University's Cain Polidano described the findings are relatively small but significant.

"There is already a bit of evidence that shows that caesarean birth is related to a number of negative childhood health outcomes, including risks of ADHD, autism and also asthma", Dr Polidano said.

She is the coordinator of Telikom Foundation Inc (TFI) , who today launched its Foundation Donation Box.

The donation box captures two programs within itself:

• Donation of library books for school children
• Donation of items to be presented to the Children’s Ward at the Port Moresby General Hospital.

This is part of the foundation’s goal and vision to improve literacy in the country.

Bafmatuk said PNG has very low literacy rates.

But this boy has a tumultuous past and a reputation that precedes him, having undergone a recovery most children will never face.

Six years ago, Aldi Suganda, also known as Aldi Rizal, was a 2-year-old chain smoker addicted to cigarettes, smoking packs each day. "It was hard for me to stop," he said. "If I am not smoking, my mouth taste is sour and my head feel dizzy.

"I am happy now. I feel more enthusiastic, and my body is feeling fresh," he said.