The SunRice Group has renewed its sponsorship of the Mountain Area Medical Airlift (MAMA) Foundation, contributing K120, 000 through its subsidiary Trukai Industries.
This announcement was made at the Manolos Heliport in Lae, Morobe Province, with SunRice Group CEO Paul Serra, Trukai Board Chairman John Bradford, and Trukai Industries CEO Alan Preston in attendance.
Trukai Industries, which is two-thirds owned by SunRice Group and the people of Papua New Guinea through the Pacific Balanced Fund (PBF) and its 22,000 national unit holders, has been a supporter of Manolos Aviation Ltd and now the MAMA Foundation for nine years.
The sponsorship will fund medical equipment for the MAMA Foundation clinic, benefiting patients airlifted from rural areas.
Alan Preston, CEO of Trukai Industries, emphasized the importance of this sustainable partnership under the company’s core value of health within its corporate social responsibility program.
“We are proud to support and be associated with an organization like MAMA Foundation as they provide a vital service that has saved the lives of many people in the most difficult-to-reach places in PNG.”
Paul Serra, CEO of SunRice Group, highlighted the company’s commitment to community support and sustainability.
“The SunRice Group is committed to making a meaningful contribution to our people, the environment, and the communities in which we operate.”
“As a participant of the United Nations Global Compact, the SunRice Group demonstrates our commitment to people and the planet through the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact and the SunRice Environment, Social and Governance Commitment.”
MAMA Foundation’s Director, Mr. Jurgen Ruh, explained that the K120, 000 sponsorship will help establish a proposed clinic for patients airlifted from remote areas via helicopter.
“The patients are stabilized on a stretcher inside the helicopter and flown to Lae. When the helicopter lands at the Lae Heliport, they will be transferred straight into the clinic where emergency operations can be conducted.”
He noted that the clinic will be equipped with an operating theatre and necessary medical equipment, primarily serving obstetric emergencies.
From January to June 2024, the MAMA Foundation conducted 87 medical evacuations, 55% of which were obstetric cases.
The MAMA Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, assists people in remote PNG by transporting them via helicopter ambulances to urban hospitals, where they have access to healthcare and emergency treatment.