Mr Thomas Dedmai and Miss Catherine Lalen have been nominated by Madang Resort Hotel to represent the company as Mr and Miss Madang Resort in this year’s upcoming Mr & Miss Madang Charity Pageant formerly known in previous years as the Miss Madang Pageant. Both contestants will be working in partnership with the Madang Rotary Club in assisting to raise funds towards the Madang Rotary Club’s Project to purchase equipment for Madang Province's rural health facilities. Thomas currently works for the Melanesian Tourist Services Limited whilst Catherine is currently undergoing studies for a degree in Communication Arts at Divine Word University. [caption id="attachment_12077" align="aligncenter" width="825"] Thomas at forefront of photo, out on yet another diving session[/caption] The Managing Director of Melanesian Tourist Services Ltd (MTS) which is the parent company of the Madang Resort, Sir Peter Barter says that he is pleased to have both Thomas and Catherine representing their team in the pageant. “I think we’ve made the right choice as both contestants are truly outspoken and they are both intelligent young Papua New Guineans who will be able to capture the minds of many during the event.” “I personally know Thomas as he is employed by MTS and I know both Thomas and Catherine will be great ambassadors for the company,” Sir Peter said. [caption id="attachment_12078" align="aligncenter" width="854"] Miss Jossie Nicholas, winner and title holder of Miss Madang 2020[/caption] The pageant will take place on the 24th of this month at the Madang Resort, whilst the pageant's traditional category will be held on the 22nd of July also at the Madang Resort Hotel. Mr Dedmai and Miss Lalen together with their sponsors will be joining several other business houses, education and health institutions in this year’s first ever Mr & Miss Madang Pageant.

The Children’s Cancer Unit at Port Moresby General Hospital today received a number of donations from the CPL Foundation. Coordinator of the CPL Foundation, Regil Wanwanji, said that Port Moresby General Hospital is one of the many communities that CPL foundation has been supporting over the years. CPL has also been showing support by donating to other parts of the hospital as well. “We are very grateful to support the various communities. We have other hospital centres that we also take care of and we are proud to support.” The donations included food, stationaries and clothing. The donations were made through the appeal of the unit ‘Friends of POM Gen' who play a vital role of supporting and supplying to the hospital; Children’s Cancer Unit being one of them. Mr Wanwanji further advised that CPL foundation will continue to donate to the Children’s Cancer Unit every month as part of their community programs aimed at supporting communities.

St Charles Lwanga Secondary School has received a refurbished library, complete with e-library units from BSP Life yesterday, as part of the BSP Financial Group's community involvement project for 2021. BSP Life country Manager, Nilson Singh said as part of contributing meaningfully back to communities, this initiative focuses on education through the refurbishment of the school’s current library with the inclusion of an e-library and reading materials. [caption id="attachment_11875" align="aligncenter" width="623"] A student checking out the new books donated to the school. Picture by BSP[/caption] “We at BSP Life PNG Limited wanted to focus on education as part of our community project this year and that’s how we came with this initiative at St Charles Lwanga Secondary School.” “This project shows BSP’s commitment is not only to be the best financial service provider but we are ensuring that our customers and stakeholders are looked after from a community level up.” The refurbishment and e-library set up is worth K30,000. This includes four brand new PC units, a two year Nuinet subscription of 250GB of free educational material and additional books which includes both text books and reading books. Singh added that education is the most important investment a country can make and the library can now be hub of learning, bridging the digital divide and making a difference in the life of students. [caption id="attachment_11876" align="aligncenter" width="661"] Students testing out the newly installed computers and e-library software. Pic by BSP [/caption]

PNG Air has surprised a newlywedded couple during their wedding in Goroka yesterday. The couple were presented with return tickets to an all-inclusive stay at Rapopo Plantation Resort in East New Britain Province for their honeymoon getaway. [caption id="attachment_11809" align="aligncenter" width="811"] Rapopo Plantation Resort[/caption] The surprise followed a recent engagement where Fabian Kokoe proposed to wife Angela Koal on the 1st of July as she was returning from Port Moresby to Goroka on a PNG Air flight. “It’s not every day you see a wedding proposal like this, especially coming off our flights, and so we wanted to go above and beyond for the couple with return tickets to an all-inclusive stay at Rapopo Plantation Resort in East New Britain for their Honeymoon” said PNG Air’s Marketing Coordinator, Christopher Lam. [caption id="attachment_11811" align="aligncenter" width="798"] Team displaying the wedding proposal at the airport[/caption] “We are always monitoring social media and the news to look at ways we can make special occasions for passengers who travel with us by giving them special moments, so it really depends on the occasion and its' story.” The engagement story went viral on social media as thousands of Papua New Guineans including PNG Air were heart warmed by the couple’s story. PNG Air has wished the couple well as they start this new journey in their life. Pictures by PNG Air

The UPNG West New Britain Students Association has taken up the initiative to assist newly established high schools in West New Britain Province by providing books including text books. This initiative came about after statistics showed students performed poorly in schools and the quality of education also dropped for almost all schools throughout the country. UPNG West New Britain Students Association President Zeal Dau said their lifelong aim is to develop human capacity by addressing socio-economic and political issues based on relevant policies with their motto “learning today leading tomorrow.” “It is important for students to be literate and to be fully able to participate in their communities.” A study was also conducted for the Association to truly understand the cause behind the book drive. “As per the examination result of lower secondary school, we conducted a feasibility survey to identify the causes of drop out and concluded that some high schools didn’t have enough resource books.” “We recommended that providing textbooks is one way that can solve this problem.” The Students Association has so far received two pallets of books from an Australian NGO. The association is now calling out to the WNB Community to show support in making sure the shipment of books arrives at the province. Dau added that the progress of the project reflects the effort of hard-working executives and effective contribution from the Association Members.

Marie Stopes PNG will be hosting its second Fertility Seminar next week Saturday on the 17th of July at their Gordon clinic. According to Marie Stopes Service Delivery Director - Loretta Bele, the purpose of the seminar is to provide information that can improve the chances of having a child for infertile couples. Ms Bele said they have received positive feedbacks from their first Fertility Session. She said their aim is to provide as much information needed for couples to make better decisions for themselves. “The outcome of these sessions are to give them a bit more information about what is pregnancy and why you are not able to get pregnant and what may be the possible causes, what may be the risk factors involved.” “There are two ways in which we can help them and one is to find out whether the female has underlying gynecological issues or whether the problem lies with the man.” Bele said they understand that most couples experience a strain on their relationship when they struggle to conceive, therefore the seminar is a way of bringing couples together to better understand each other with the information provided at the seminar.