Connecting the dots across the vast Pacific Ocean to promote his debut film, Black Python, at the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture in Hawaii, USA, is a young Papua New Guinean medical doctor turned filmmaker. At the enormous Hawaii Convention Centre in the center of Honolulu City, where more than two thousand indigenous Pacific Islanders are celebrating their ethnic arts and cultural heritage, Spencer Peter Wangare told his story on the big screen yesterday. A 100-minute gritty urban drama directed and produced by Spencer tells the story of a streetwise drug dealer named Badu who takes a big risk by letting a young hustler named John join his crew, only to realize later that he may have put John in serious danger. As a technically demanding field in the arts and creative industry, filmmaking is currently not a popular career choice for Papua New Guineans. Spencer explained that the film is only 85% finished, but it took him nearly ten years to produce. After two years of practicing medicine to please his parents, he told fellow filmmakers during the film's premiere that he had discovered his passion for filmmaking. Approximately sixty young Papa New Guineans were gathered by the self-taught director and producer Spencer, who trained them all by himself to become camera operators, editors, and screenwriters. However, he was only able to keep five of them, as the others left for better opportunities. He expressed his gratitude to the National Cultural Commission for supporting him and believing in him to showcase his work at the Pacific festival that is taking place in Hawaii. Through this festival, he has been able to establish strong connections and exchange stories with other filmmakers from Pacific Islands. “Even though the film is 85 percent done, I am getting a very good reception and feedback so far from professionals.”

Coca Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) and Coca-Cola ASEAN South Pacific have teamed up to provide the Enga Disaster office with much-needed water to help the families affected by the landslide that happened in the Mulitaka district last month. Following this natural disaster, CCEP wanted to be there to support the local communities that were affected by these tragic events, according to Tim Solly the Sales & Commercial Director of CCEP. “Our condolences to the families of those that perished in the landslide, we hope the water and drinks supply can assist those displaced by the landslide during this difficult time and provide some support to them in their time of need.” A total of 200 cartons of Nature’s Own Water and 50 cartons of assorted Coca-Cola brands were received by Ben Sarett from the Enga Disaster Centre.

Woman of God’s Creation group will be hosting a workshop this Saturday 15th, June 2024 at Country Women’s Association, teaching women and girls on dealing with Gender-based Violence (GBV), using the written word of God – the Bible. Woman of God’s Creation Founder Mrs. Dika B. Kila, stated that this was a result of God-given vision she experienced back in 2008. She describes the workshop as an ‘awakening session’ for women and girls to realize and consciously utilize powers bestowed upon them by God as solutions towards violence. “I wanted to help women who experienced GBV, but the problem was that violence is an ongoing thing.” “I went through life experiencing GBV, and I wanted to find out more about this phenomenon.” “There is no physical solution that can stop gender-based violence; it’s an issue of the mind and spirit.” Although Kila has 15-16 years of spiritual experiences, and has done similar activities within her own family, she mentioned that this will be her first time hosting such a workshop in a public setting. “I have helped my family members and experienced the healing power of God working on my late mother who was a diabetic patient.” She also stated that initially, she was reluctant to do a workshop open to all but changed her mind after her brother’s passing. “I was distraught and told God I didn’t believe in Him, I wanted to know why my brother wasn’t healed the way my mother was.” “The Holy Spirit told me it was because I was reluctant to share what wisdom and knowledge I possessed with the world and that was what blocked me spiritually.” Despite the workshop targeting women and girls, Kila states that it’s also open to the men and boys who are interested in gaining such knowledge. Workshop will be held at CWA Hall, Taurama Rd, from 8:30am – 3:00pm. Entry fee is K100 (must be prepaid to confirm seats). For further information contact Dika B. Kila on +675 7261 4494.

During its most recent Prime Minister's Corporate Golf Challenge in Lae city, the Papua New Guinea Olympic Committee (PNGOC) raised K75, 500 to support Team PNG to go for the Paris Olympic Games. The annual event saw twenty- five (25) teams signed up to support the national athletes who will compete in the July 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, along with three-hole sponsors. The PNGOC organizes the annual Prime Minister's Corporate Golf Challenge as a fundraiser for Team PNG's preparations for important international competitions. The golf challenge was first held at the Royal Port Moresby Golf Club in 1998. In 2005, it moved to Lae. PNGOC has hosted the esteemed event for 26 years this year. The 2024 PM’s Golf Corporate Challenge top 7 Winners are as follows: · 1st Place: Lane Lawyers · 2nd Place: 4 Mile Coffee · 3rd Place: Kumul Minerals Holding Limited (Team 3) · 4th Place: Coffee Connections · 5th Place: Executive Security Services · 6th Place: Mountain (Kouram Construction) · 7th Place: PNG Ports Present at the event was Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources, Jelta Wong who teed off as the representative from the Prime Minister’s Office. During his speech, Minister Wong stated that the Prime Minister's Office looks forward to continuing to support Team PNG in the upcoming years because the National Government is a proud supporter of nation building through sports. Denzil Agi, Corporate Manager of PNGOC, expressed his appreciation to everyone who helped make the event a success. “As we close off a successful day at the PM’s Golf, I would like to extend my gratitude towards our good Prime Minister, James Marape. I would like to commend you on your continuous support towards the Papua New Guinea Olympic Committee and Team PNG; your support for this important annual event is highly appreciated.” “I also wish to acknowledge our partners for the PM’s Golf, the major event sponsor, The National, Ela Motors, Air Niugini, SP Brewery, Media Partners, Coral Sea Hotels, Trophy Haus, Trukai Industries Limited, Theodist, Blue 7 Team, Vodafone, not forgetting the Hole sponsors, Telikom, Pacific Cargo Transport (NKW), and PNG Ports Corporation. Mr. Agi concluded by stating that the event would not have been a success without their support. “We look forward to continuing this partnership in the coming years.”

On Monday June 10th, all of Buk Bilong Pikinini’s Library Learning Centres (LLCs) celebrated World Ocean Day with a variety of engaging activities designed to foster a love and commitment towards conserving the ocean among children. The day was filled with interactive and educational activities. The children had fun colouring marine animals with materials from BbP's published animal activity books, which helped them connect with marine life. Meanwhile, teachers designed aquarium displays and ocean-themed classrooms to make learning engaging and immersive. At University of Papua New Guinea’s Library, Ms. Lynette Petsul, a postgraduate scientist from the university’s Department of Environmental Science and Geography visited the children as part of a special session. She emphasized three key actions: reducing plastic pollution, practicing sustainable fishing, and protecting marine life. Ms. Petsul's presentation captivated the students, who eagerly participated in discussions and considered how they could help protect the oceans in their daily lives. In the meantime, Goroka’s Library Learning Center's highlight of the day was when little Adniel Jeffrey brought a live fish from his family's pond to show his friends. This was an especially exciting moment due to Goroka being in the highland’s region, far from the ocean, making the sight of a live fish an extra special treat for the children. Some LLCs coordinated beach clean-ups in addition to classroom activities, where kids and their families came together to clear trash from nearby beaches, highlighting the value of environmental stewardship and neighbourhood involvement. The celebrations at each of the LLCs were a huge success, bringing together knowledge and hands-on experience to encourage the next generation to take care of the marine environment.

Blackouts are unfortunately a regular occurrence at the Malabunga Secondary School in the East New Britain province, an occurrence that continues to affect the education of over 1, 400 students. The rural school, which has 770 day- students, 668 boarding students, 49 teaching staff and 20 ancillary staff, often experiences both electricity and water issues. Principal for Malabunga Secondary, Bruno Kulai stated that the school’s water supply is heavily dependent on electricity. “Whenever the power goes out, our water supply also gets cut off because we use a bore water pump that operates on electricity to extract water from underground.” “The regular blackouts affect how well the machine operates.” “If the machine gets damaged then we have to spend money on new parts.” Kulai stated that whenever there are issues with water supply, the boarding students are sent home and attend classes as day students. The boarding students come back when regular water supply returns. Kulai, who has served as a principal in various schools for nearly 15 years, stated that most schools spend approximately K5, 000 to K6, 000 a month on electricity. Malabunga Secondary, however, spends an average of K10, 000 to K12, 000 each month on power bills. In the meantime, the school is considering a purchase of a brand new 110kVA generator to assist in electricity supply.

As the Written Expression exam date passes, Malabunga Secondary School, in East New Britain Province like most schools in the country, has been facing its fair share of difficulties in continuing the academic year. Principal for Malabunga Mr. Bruno Kulai, stated that he’s seen the student numbers grow since he first started teaching in 2019. “When I first started teaching, there were approximately 850 students; presently in 2024 the number has increased to 1438.” While Kulai is pleased to see more primary students making it into secondary school, he is also concerned about the uneven distribution of GTFS funds within the province. “Malabunga is a boarding school that houses 668 students and over 770-day students, yet it receives less funding compared to large day schools.” He told PNG HAUSBUNG that Malabunga may consider diminishing its boarding status and become a day school due to financial issues. “Cost of living is high and it’s putting a strain on the school’s finances.” Additionally, he stated that schools in province were considering closing on exam week if funds did not get through. “The worst-case scenario would be closing the school, with exceptions to the Grade 10s sitting for their exams, but we do not want that to happen.” Malabunga received its GTFS during week 6 of term 2. Apart from late fees and overpopulation of students, Malabunga also has challenges of frequent blackouts.

Madang Youth & Community Leader Kurere Matanzana has implemented several community projects for more than a decade as part of his personal vision to transform Madang Province, and this time, it's no different, as he, with the help of medical students from the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) work together to conduct health awareness in rural Madang and as well as deliver medical supplies to health centres and aid posts grappling with drug shortage. Matanzana and the students travelled to wards 18 (Gum), 17 (Bilbil), 16 (Sein), 18 (Yabob), 15 (Aiyab), 20 (Umun), & 23 (Utu) in Amenob Rural LLG giving talks on family planning, teenage pregnancies, and sex education. After conducting awareness, medical supplies were delivered to Utu Health Centre, Yagaum Health Centre, and Danben Clinic with assistance from Matanzana's friend and former employers. "Skin disease drugs for children were delivered with the help of Pacific Towing Marine Services." Matanzana added that there are still medical supplies pending delivery due to a lot of wards not having facilities to store supplies. "There are a lot of medicine still with me, but they cannot be delivered and donated to respective wards due to these wards lacking aid posts and health centers - if they do, however, chances are these wards are no longer in operation." "Infrastructure development has been neglected by our leaders." Consequently, many patients flock to other operating health centres, which in turn create another issue of overcrowding. He gave an example of Yagaum stating that the rural health centre serves approximately more than 320, 000 patients annually. Additionally, most of the staff serving in these health centres are elderly and require a lot of support from the community to keep them going. "Age is catching up to the long-serving staff, and there are no young people to take over once they retire." He remarked that this was all a reflection of bad leadership. "Madang is facing a medical crisis of drug and staff shortage, infrastructure neglect, and a lack of proper staff training." "Us ordinary citizens cannot do much, we can only help in whatever little ways we can and hope the leaders in power can be empathetic towards the plight of the people." Apart from conducting health awareness, talks were also given on topics ranging from law & order to environmental issues.

Raikos Secondary School, a rural boarding school in the Rai Coast District, Madang like their counterparts will also sit for their Written Expression exams on June 6th, 2024. School Principal Mr. Earnest Saweang told PNG HAUSBUNG that 316 students will sit for their exams, an increase from last year’s student numbers. Preparations were already underway in the weeks prior to exam week. Saweang stated that due to disturbances last year, the school had been conducting weekend classes to help students catch up with lessons they missed as far as 2023. “Discipline is a major focus this year – we are getting our students in order, as last year we had a lot of disturbances.” “The school’s environment compared to last year has gotten better.” They also sat for two mock exams prior to exam week. “Initially, our English teachers revised the papers with the Grade 10s in their respective classrooms.” “However, this arrangement was later changed so we had all the students gathered together so the teachers can help them recognize their mistakes with the corrected papers.” He believes his students are now ready for their exams. Raikos Secondary School is located on the south coast of Madang Province and is only accessible by boat. It takes approximately 2 – 3 hours to reach the school and may take longer if there are rough seas.

Bank South Pacific (BSP) along with a small team from Brisbane Broncos today visited Paradise College with the aim of introducing kids to financial literacy in its financial literacy program. BSP's Regional Trainer Naomi Sion, explained that this initiative targets school children in Grade 4 teaching them how to save money at an early age. "We want children to have that savings culture embedded in them while they are still young." "This will help to minimize any issues they may have with saving money in the future when they're older." She further explained the arrangement between BSP and Brisbane Broncos in relation to BSP's financial literacy program. "We are in community partnership, they also run their financial literacy programs in Brisbane." "They support us in merchandise as well as shared their experiences with the children in PNG." Sion stated that the next school they plan on visiting will be the Port Moresby International School (POMIS).

Caritas PNG launched its media contest called the Blessed Carlo Acutis Youth Media Competition, at the Catholic Bishops Conference, in Port Moresby on Monday. Open to all Catholic Parish Youth Groups and Catholic students from secondary, tertiary, vocational and technical schools, this initiative under the theme: 'Preparing our Youth for a Sustainable Future's' requires youths to use technology as well as their creativity to produce either a short video (portrait view), an original song, or an original comic strip for submission. CPNG Communications Officer, Isabella Saleu highlighted the aims Caritas expects to achieve with the launching of this competition. "We want young people to utilize technology especially social media as a tool for positive advocacy towards the masses and also for themselves." "Instead of us/people in authority telling youths what kind of future they should look forward to, we want the youths to tell us the kind of future they want." "We also want to promote our Catholic identity through this initiative." CBC's Social Communications Officer Ahisha Mangot, expressed a positive outlook on technology and artificial intelligence stating that it has the potential to contribute to accomplishing the competition's theme. "One can only imagine the endless possibilities technology and communications has to offer young people, in regard to equipping them for a sustainable future." All submissions must be approved by the local Parish Priest (for youth groups) and Principals/Deans (for schools & institutions). Prizes will be announced at a later date. Entries close on August 15th, 2024. For more information follow www.caritas.org.pg/youth.

Athletes, sports officials, and invited guests were fortunate to witness the 32nd SP Sports Awards Presentation, under the theme ‘Discipline Starts with You’ at the Crown Hotel on Saturday night. Sponsored by SP Brewery, the SP Sports Awards recognizes the achievements of PNG athletes, officials, sports media, and sports community initiatives in various categories. Each of the 11 categories had its top three (3) finalists who were selected through open nominations. Winners in each category are as follows: People’s Choice Award – Kimbe Pirates (Rugby 7s) Male Athlete of the Year – Daniel Baul (Athletics) Female Athlete of the Year – Dika Toua (Weightlifting) Carbine Club Team of the Year – PNG Barramundis (Cricket) Brands Pacific National Performance of the Year – Kimbe Pirates (Rugby 7s) CPL Para-Athlete of the Year – Samantha Maiasa (Athletics) Community Sports initiative of the Year – National Kickboxing Federation (Kickboxing) Coca-Cola EuroPacific Partners Junior Male Athlete of the Year – Sugar-Ray Hakena (Tennis) Coca-Cola EuroPacific Partners Junior Female Athlete of the Year – Timonaliz Alarcos Kriebischi (Squash) Trukai Industries Sports Official of the Year – Mark Keto (Boxing) Trukai Industries Limited Sports Media Award – NBC Sports Desk Sports Photo of the Year – ‘Golden Girl’ by Patricia Keamo Former Australian Olympic Swimmer and Guest Speaker Liesel Jones referring back to the awards theme spoke on her experiences on discipline being a much-needed quality for athletes. She stated that oftentimes individuals mistakenly believe that motivation is the key to success. “Motivation is something that is fleeting.” “Most of the time, you’re not motivated to do anything and that’s when discipline comes in.” “It’s showing up for training and getting the work done even when you don’t feel like it.”