Milne Bay

Marie Stopes Country Director, Mr Maarten van de Reep who witnessed the launching for the new team there said the goal of the team is to provide access to family planning to the people in far flung places across the provinces that otherwise would not be able to access these services.

The new team is the latest addition to the Marie Stopes PNG team.

“Family planning is widely considered as one of the most cost effective interventions to improve maternal health and promote sustainable population growth.

This money is set aside for the Milne Bay Provincial Government scholarship assistance program.

According to data analysis compiled by the Provincial Education Advisor, Roma Tuidam,  632 students will benefit from this funding.

Speaking at the open awareness forum for this program yesterday in Alotau, Governor Philemon told parents to also make it their business and responsibility to take care of the parent component side of the fee structure so that whatever they fall short off, funding like the Provincial government scholarship assistance scheme can assist.

Maile Abaijah, the  woman's niece said she went out fishing at around 4pm that afternoon and did not return. "After we (the family) realised that she was missing, we recruited a search party and went out on Sunday morning looking for her. We checked around East Cape area and the nearby outer islands but our searches were unsuccessful."

Abaijah said yesterday four dinghies went out looking for her around the Basilaki island but they ran out of zoom and had to call off the search.

O'Neill when giving his speech said the government has and will be focusing on tourism to boost the economy of this country.

"The government has and will be creating more avenues for the tourism industry in the country and Milne Bay is one of the hubs that will deliver this industry," he said.

O'Neill added that the first test flight today by Air Niugini from Brisbane to Gurney is just the beginning of many flights to come.

He said the government will do its best and help the people through its service delivery. The festival will end on Nov 8.

Kenu and Kundu festival chairman Henry Benoma told Loop PNG today in Milne Bay that the province had been looking forward to hosting this event and to showing  the culture of Milne Bay people.

He said the National Government had not made a mistake to host this festival which is the traditional part of the Milne Bay people.

Benoma said the province had a greater vision of promoting the culture and traditions of its people to the outside world in terms of tourism and such an event is one of those strategies.

This is despite the fact that the d’Entrecasteaux group’s main islands of Fergusson and Normanby are accessible by motorised banana boats in under an hour from the eastern most mainland tip of Papua New Guinea compared to the 45-minute commercial flight from Alotau to the Trobriand Islands.

The d’Entrecasteaux Islands unique products are now slowly being exposed to international visitors through a special community project introduced at the district level by the local Member of Parliament Davies Stevens.

Village councillor Clifford Gaileko said since El Niño hit the province about four months ago, there had not been one single authority or elected leader that had come down to assess the situation and help.

 “Votes from the grassroots people bring politicians into power and into government. They must remember us and help us.

“The situation is so bad, we have no food, we have no water and we really need help,” said Gaileko.

Porotona is in the Maramatana LLG in Planning Minister Charles Abel's Alotau electorate.

This is what it has come to for villagers like Gini as El Niño continues to spread destruction in the province.

Loop PNG caught up with Gini as he headed to the canteen to buy a small lamp and a packet of rice for his journey.

“Tomorrow I will leave at 7am with my wife and my small brother to the Oyapopo mountains. It will take us about one whole day of walking to get there.

“We will stay the weekend clearing land at the foot of the mountains where it is much cooler and plant corn, pumpkin, watermelon and hope it grows,” said Gini.

What was once the Huhuna waterfall is now nothing. The mighty Deledele river has been reduced to just a small pool of water. Most rivers have run completely dry.

Many markets have closed and gardens are turning out damaged taros and cassavas from the scorching heat.

Locals at every village told the same story of the everyday struggle to survive.

Pastor Derek Gneiding said the people simply didn’t know where to go and what to do.