The Jacks of PNG and Local clothing brand, the Chauka Ya clothing collection, today commemorated one year of collaboration together which also culminated in the launch of a new clothing  by the same designer, Cynthia Hisawaii. The Chauka Ya! Clothing collection was launched last year, and according to the representative of the designer and elder sister of Ms. Hisawaii, Gillian Torie, they are proud for celebrating one year of collaboration with the Jack’s of PNG. Ms.Torie, also added the significance of the collection, as it stands to represent the wearers own distinctive personality and adds to promote self-awareness. She said the designer specifically chose the brand name Chauka Ya was inspired by the infamous Chauka Bird that is endemic to the Manus Province. She states that it personified the vast amount of culture that the country had to offer. “When you wear it, you promote your culture and that is what it’s all about, promoting your culture,” added Torie.

The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary, with great pride and excitement, opened the refurbished Boroko Police Station this week. Speaking first at the opening, Assistant Commissioner Anthony Wagambie Jnr challenged the Boroko Police Station Commander (PSC) and his officers to improve with performance and look after the station. He challenged the PSC to take ownership and look after the station, also stating that the officers approach with the public must change. ”Our job is to serve, we must serve the public in a professional way. With the working environment changed, the mindset must change” he said. The Commander of the Southern Federal Police Contingent deployed in the country, Assistant Commissioner Jamie Strauss stressed the importance of the opening, stating that in 2020, the Australian Federal Police and the RPNGC, under the PNG-Australian Police Partnership, reviewed a combination of requirements that highlighted many of the buildings at the Station were in need of significant repair and maintenance. He also added that the station was the heart of policing in Port Moresby. “The AFP saw it as a priority to refurbish the station,” Commissioner Strauss said. Assistant Commissioner Straus also highlighted that the station is where the police and public interact, often under difficult circumstances and that providing a refurbished station with a hauswin for members of the public to have a dry, safe and comfortable environment to gather and report crime. He further added that the AFP and the Australian Govt. were extremely pleased to be able to provide the police station upgrade. Police Commissioner David Manning in congratulating the organizing committee and the AFP, encouraged the officers of the Boroko Police Station to continue to observe protocols and traditions of the proud institution that is the RPNGC. He encouraged the crowd, adding that the station was for the public. “Every person that you see standing here are here to serve you,” he said whole addressing the public. Commissioner Manning stated that the RPNGC is in a transition phase and at a critical junction in it’s history. He said rebuilding the force and resetting our attitudes to our profession and more importantly restoring the confidence of the communities in the constabulary to bring about a just and secure society is what they a working towards.

As one group of minorities in the world, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex [LGBTQI+] community is the most marginalized in the world. From all walks of life and societies around the world, many people tend to base their perspective of people on face value. As the saying goes “Never judge a book by it’s cover,” many people around the world tend to judge people based on outward appearances, job titles, social standings, sexual preference e.t.c. and for 50 years, people around the world have been trying their best to breakdown this ideology. The Embassy of The United States to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu throughout the month of June is aiming to stand shoulder to shoulder with the LGBTQI+ Community here in the country to breakdown these barriers. Flying the Rainbow Progress Flag, they will be sharing statements of support and LGBTQI+ Community information on all social media pages. You may be asking yourself, what is pride month? According to the Embassy, Pride Month commemorates the Stonewall Uprising, a day in 1969 when LGBTQI+ people fought back against police mistreatment and discrimination in New York City. It’s a time for recognizing the beautiful diversity of the LGBTQI+ community and acknowledging the movement to advance human rights. Fast forward to 50 years later and the LGBTQI+ community is still fighting for inclusion. Unlike other countries, the LGBTQI+ community in PNG is not very vocal in advocating about their rights. This can be attributed to the social stigma and discrimination that they face on a day to day basis. People find it hard to come out and express themselves freely. Those that do face insults and harassment, either verbal or physical. In some parts of the country, they are even threatened. The embassy believes that too many countries today, access to LGBTQI+ related information is restricted and representation of LGBTQI+ issues is censored. Too often, Pride events themselves are banned by governments or violently disrupted by those motivated by hatred. In the United States it’s different. For decades, LGBTQI+ people were forced to hide that aspect of themselves from their communities, coworkers, and even family members. But now it’s different, the world is progressing towards the recognition and celebration of sexual orientation and gender diversity and according to the embassy, pride month is a way in which the LGBTQI+ community to know that they are seen and that the communities they live in value them. In recent years, one of the greatest strides that the US govt. has done for LGBTQI+ inclusion is US President Joseph Biden signing the Executive Order charging the Federal Government with preventing and combating discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. This includes non-discriminatory protection for LGBTQI+ Americans in housing, health care, education, employment, credit and lending services, and the criminal justice system. The US Department of State is closely working to The U.S. Department of State is working to advance the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons in line with President Biden’s Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons around the world. In the US, Pride month is often celebrated with pride parades, LGBTQI+ themed events, speeches, rallies, and flying a rainbow flag.

City Pharmacy in partnership with the Port Moresby General Hospital, Sir Brian Bell Foundation Centre for Transfusion Medicine and the Blood Bank today commemorated the World Blood Donor Day at the Central Waigani Stop N Shop center, with the theme “Donating Blood Is an Act of Solidarity.” This was done to celebrate the huge contribution of blood donors and to shed light on the importance of blood donation and its impact to saving lives in the country. Master of Ceremony, Dr. Derrick Nagul stressed on the importance of the day stating that the commemoration of World Blood Donor Day is to shed light on the need for blood transfusion and awareness for blood donation. Present at the event were senior members of the Port Moresby General Hospital and the CEO of the CPL Group of companies, Mr Navin Raju. Mr. Raju thanked the guests and partners present and urged the general public that by donating blood they can save lives. “Doctors save lives by giving treatment, you can save lives as well,” he said. After opening the event with a prayer by Pastor Leroy Nosi, Dr. Merrilyn Mathias was the first to guest speaker to step up and speak about WBTD. Dr. Mathias expressed with great delight that it was a special day as it is celebrated on the birthday of famous Austrian Physician Carl Landsteiner, who pioneered the discovery of the main blood groups in 1900. The day was chosen in 2004 to commemorate his birthday and celebrate the courage of people that do voluntary blood transfusions. She also added blood is a gift that cannot be manufactured. Also part of the program and guest speaker was the Director for Medical Services, Dr. Kone Sobi. Dr. Sobi stressed that today was about remembering those who save lives. “Today we remember those that save lives. We also remember that we carry a precious commodity within us,” he said. He added that the last two years have been challenging as due to the pandemic, the number of blood donated had dropped. Now with the Covid-19 restrictions slackened, those who wish to donate can head over to the blood bank and do so.

Marie Stopes PNG [MSPNG] is continuing its outreach program in its drive to educate young people and families on Sexual Reproductive Health [SRH] and awareness. Each month, the Outreach team head out to rural areas and provide family planning services. The program has reached around 200,000 women, but according to MSPNG Representative, Ms. Mellisah Aigigo, this number is still not enough. “Most of these woman are in the rural areas and sometimes people are not open to talk about family planning,” Ms. Aigigo said. She also added that most of the time, people don’t talk about family planning as much, so it can be a challenge when disseminating information to the people. [caption id="attachment_22304" align="aligncenter" width="540"] Image courtesy: Marie Stopes PNG[/caption] Now MSPNG is expanding their services at their centers globally and will now be focusing on making their clinics to be more of a well women clinic accessible to men as well. “We want to be part of the ladies life from menstruation to menopause,” she added. Ms. Agigo also advised that at different points in life, women go through different stages of development they may need medical advice and attention. MSPNG is now incorporating lab services into the clinics and antenatal services also for the young women seeking to get pregnancy tests, it's also available. “We’re diversifying our services to assist young men and women with the experiences that they are going through,” said Ms. Agigo. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, services were scaled down, but since the restrictions were lifted, all services are now available to the general public.

The Senisim Pasin Campaign initiated by the Tribal Foundation in partnership with The Price Waterhouse Coopers visited the St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Secondary School recently to conduct a session with the students on ending Gender Based Violence & Sorcery Related Violence and Accusations by focusing on the value of women and girls while helping men to understand their role in the family and society as a whole. According to Lead Facilitator and Advocate, Ms. Yanamlyn Yana expressed that when people start seeing the value of each other, then we will start to respect each other. “When we start to value of women and girls, including men and boys too, we start to have respect, we will have dignity, we will start to treat everyone equally and with views in a way that helps people prosper in life,” Ms. Yana said. St. Charles Lwanga was the last school to be visited after 10 others and the session held was comprised of two parts, in which the screening of the Senisim Pasin film was also featured followed by discussions with the students. The discussion focused around identifying types of violence and abuse and finding pathways for young people to help deal with them as soon as possible. The main idea is to encourage survivors of violence and abuse to speak up and speak out. Tribal Foundation Communications Specialist, Ms. Hannah Joku, stressed on the importance of language, stating that some stories that people hear stay with them. Recalling stories from previous experiences, she outlined behavioral indicators that may sometimes lead to GBV. Being a survivor of GBV herself, she believes that it is important that information needs to be shared on the constitution and what the laws say and what people’s rights are because many young people may be involved in intimate romantic relationships.

Porgera is in full panic mode as a full out tribal war erupted between two rival tribes affecting the learning at the Porgera Secondary School. The Deputy Principle of the school, Mr. Amos Amail has advised that even though there is security personnel from the Papua New Guinea Defense Force patrolling the area, movement of students to and from school has been strained. “Even though defense force personnel are around, with are still fearing for our lives because the warring tribes are still out there, roaming the streets,” Mr. Amail said. Mr. Amail remarked that despite the clashes, students were being urged to return to school and two thirds of the students have returned to school. He said the clashes have directly affected student learning as students are fearing for their lives. “We are also fearing for our lives as well because we know that as soon as the security forces leave, we will be left to the mercy of the warring tribes,” Mr. Amail said. He also added that two females were raped, one was a pregnant woman 7-8 pregnant and that the defense force operating in the area shot dead 3 men as they were attempting to charge into the school. The tribes at war are said to be between the Aiyal and the Nomal tribes, and is said the conflict between the two was due to a land dispute that has been going on for 4-5years.

Madang Province is bracing itself for a major Whooping cough influx. The province is making provisions to try to restock their anti-biotic inventory with but due to poor logistics and delays in drug supply, the immunization coverage is low. The Director of the Madang Provincial Health Authority [PHA], Dr. Mantin Daimen has advised that it is highly likely that the influx will be nationwide. “We in Madang are bracing ourselves to combat this disease and are expecting a high number of cases,” Dr. Daimen said. Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough, but these are followed by weeks of severe coughing fits. After a week or two, signs and symptoms worsen. Thick mucus accumulates inside the airways, causing uncontrollable coughing. Severe and prolonged coughing attacks may: Provoke vomiting Result in a red or blue face Cause extreme fatigue Ends with a high-pitched "whoop" sound during the next breath of air. Sometimes, a persistent hacking cough is the only sign that an adolescent or child has whooping cough. The Madang PHA is working closely to monitor the situation and is urging parents to report to health centers and hospitals should they notice any of the symptoms.

The Equal Playing Field culminated its 5 week community program facilitated by the University Action Group recently with the graduation ceremony in Port Moresby on the weekend. The graduation saw 24 participants from the Mahuru Village in the Moresby-South electorate receive certificates for participating in the program. The program, with its last session on Saturday focused on building up youth capacity and helping young men and women, whom have been victims of abuse to reach out and find help. The Equal Field Program Manager Desmond Goru expressed thanks to the Mahuru Village for allowing them to run the program with the youth in the village. The program, being the first of its kind as it is their first ever intervention outside of school to be brought outside of school, has had no major hiccups due to the cooperation of the Village youth and the village & church elders. “The program ran smoothly and has now come to an end,” said Mr. Goru. The President of the Badiri Youth Association Mr. Miri Osi, also expressed delight at the outcome of the Project Badiri and emphasized that they have instilled great inspiration to the youth. Mr. Osi said that he was very happy and delighted that outcome of the program has been very positive. “It’s a very good program as it teaches young people about the importance of having respectful relationships, gender equality and instills good behavioral values to the young ones,” said Mr. Osi.

The public has expressed sympathy towards the family of the Late Deputy Prime Minister and Bulolo MP, Sam Basil after the fatal accident that claimed his life and the life of his Close Protection Officer two days ago. So much has happened in the last two days and as the Royal Papua New Guinea Police Constabulary looks into the DPM’s untimely death, the general public has also expressed concern over the slack security profile the MP had that fateful night. “To lose an MP this way was heart breaking and the first of its kind,” said Pariak, a member of the general public who hails from the Ono Kasama Ward in the Bulolo District. Another citizen also confessed that the loss of the DPM has left a rift in the hearts of many, not only from the Bulolo district but around the country. In light of the accident, people all around the country are saddened and in shock that a prominent public figure such as the DPM could lose his life in the way he did. Many see him as a role model and a man of great stature. An elderly man lamented that he had the potential to do more, but his legacy will go on. The bodies of the Late DPM and his CPO are currently being held at the Glenrowan Funeral Home at 14 mile, Lae.

The Sanap Wantaim Campaign has gone a long way since its foundation in 2016 and since then has gone great lengths to dissolve barriers that hinder young men and women from reaching much needed help from service providers that provide assistance to survivors Gender Based Violence and social issues throughout the country. The Sanap Wantaim Campaign is an initiative that aims to promote Gender equality, and equal opportunities for young women and aims to end Gender based Violence. According to Sanap Wantaim member and Youth Coordinator, Joanna Oala, youth volunteers will now be able to have reliable information to disseminate to youths attending Sanap Wantaim sessions around the country when a new tool kit is launched in the coming month. “The toolkit will also feature inside stories about real events that will shed much needed light into the world of survivors GBV and other issues.” She also highlighted the positive development and impact that youths all over the country have portrayed since the campaign started branching out. A new toolkit will be launched in June that will be put forward for use in urban and rural areas that tackles issues young men and women face.