The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hosted a dinner for a distinguished group of government, civic and educational leaders in Port Moresby area on the evening of 14th March 2019.
Senior church leader Elder Robert Dudfield hosted the event, with representatives, Richard McLean, Riki Tukukino and Clive Haydon from Australian charitable organisation Pacific Assist. Also present was LDS Charities local representative Eddie Alembo.
Pacific Assist, a charitable, not-for-profit organisation provides humanitarian donations across the Pacific, particularly in areas of educational supplies such as school tables, chairs and text books as well as hospital beds and other suitable donated medical equipment.
LDS Charities (the humanitarian arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) works in partnerships with NGO's and other charity organisations throughout the world. The dinner provided a platform to explain about the partnership between LDS Charities and Pacific Assist, and the current and future initiatives being implemented to help support those in need in Papua New Guinea.
To date, ten shipping containers full of school furniture and equipment have been distributed to 30 schools in the greater Port Moresby area. Six more containers are being prepared for another shipment to Lae, as well as thirty fully-electric hospital beds and specialized mattresses to be shipped to and used in local hospitals.
Earlier in the day, a press conference was held to highlight the humanitarian efforts of these organisations. Representatives from the major newspapers of Port Moresby, including a film crew from a local TV station attended and covered the press conference. After the presentations were made by the Church, LDS Charities and Pacific Assist, a substantial period of time was allocated for an active period of questions from the various reporters.
Concerning this visit, Rick McLean, co-founder and director of Pacific Assist said, "It was just wonderful to see how LDS Charities, the Church and Pacific Assist were able to harmonize and work well together as one. Everyone contributed to deliver some successful outcomes for Papua New Guinea. I am confident that this is just the beginning of our association together here in Papua New Guinea."
Riki Tukukino, also a director of Pacific Assist remarked, "We had a great opportunity to develop relationships with some key people here [in Port Moresby]." He went on to say, "It gives us an opportunity to let people know what Pacific Assist is about and how we can help people here in Papua New Guinea."
Homoka Boge, co-Director from the Northern Capital District Education office, speaking on behalf of himself and two other officers who attended the special dinner meeting, said, "We are thankful to [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] and Pacific Assist for the dinner at the Hilton hotel. It was a privilege to meet with important & wise people sharing ideas, experiences. . . The schools that received the donations are very happy and are enjoying the facilities. This gift has motivated the children and boosted their morale in their learning. The communities are very pleased and convey their thanks to all donors and the Latter Day Saints."
The National Newspaper published several articles discussing the donations received, including hundreds of quality school desks and chairs, as well as numerous laptop computers, large whiteboards, student backpacks and more than 90 boxes of school books.
Links to the recent articles are provided below:
The National, 21 February 2019: "Mormons help 21 schools with classroom furniture", click here.
The National, 15 March 2019: "Latter-day Saints Continue to help schools in PNG", click here.
The National, 18 March 2019: "Church donates stationery, desks to schools", click here.