Bride Price

I have just been talking Joshua Keno, operations supervisor at ADRA, who is returning to Anumba - his local community near Henganofi, Eastern Highlands Province (EHP) this weekend to participate in a wedding.
This wedding has the largest bride price that I have heard of in my personal acquaintances.
Joshua's brother, Herod, who works in Port Moresby is marrying a girl who also works in Port Moresby... the connections however have lead to the large bride price.
The connection is that Priscilla's father is the Deputy Administrator of Chimbu Province.

Joshua's wife, Jutty, bride price was K5,000. Which I think is a bargain! They seem very happy with their kids and she is often outside ADRA at lunchtime selling donuts and other food to the lunchtime crowd walking up the street to add to the family income. She comes from 'out past Okapa' which is a remote part of EHP ... Joshua told me a funny story regarding the negotiations of Jutty's bride price that involved Jutty's mother throwing a hot frying pan with oil from the fire between Joshua and his brother who were lucky to avoid serious burns!

Anyway, back to the story.
The bride price is as follows:
10 cows
20 pigs
20 goats
2 cassowarys and
K60,000 in cash.
All up with the feast over the weekend it will cost around K100,000 in cash and the animals as extra! There is also a chartered plane from POM to Goroka for the 60 guests from POM to attend. The guests will be transported to Anumba from Goroka in 6 hired toyota landcruisers (K1,200+ each!)
The cost for the guests from Chimbu is an unknown cost at this stage.

Joshua will try and get photos over the weekend which I will add at a later date.

Economic Development Open Day

On Thursday, 18 June ADRA held the Economic Development Open Day at the local Eriku Basketball courts.
ADRA PNG's Economic Development Sector includes the Micro Finance project (SED) and the Rural Economic Development (RED) project.
There was a collection of stalls operated by the women from the SED program and also our partners from the RED program.

This is the Cocoa Copra Institute showing types of cocoa and the budding of hybrid clones to existing root stock.

The range of fresh produce in Lae is amazing, temperate vegetables and fruit from the highlands and tropical species from the coast... year round.

The Marching Girls (women) opened proceedings, very enjoyable. As they did their turns they slide their right shoe and looked to the right...and the women in the crowd loved it, with whistles and laughing... I suppose it was the PNG equivalent of 'showing a bit of leg'.

Marilyn with one of the dance/theatre groups that performed... the 'snake man' and his family.

If you want to see the music and dance of this group, check out Raul Schneider's blog listed on the right to see Mathias dancing.

Janice, one of the SED volunteers, who does flower arranging as her business. Her range of gingers is amazing-you cant quite see the hairy ginger hanging down on the left.

Part of the ED team at the end of some very hard days, Lorraine (sitting), Grace (at the centre) and Bonifas, Gabriel probably took the picture.

TISOL Grade 4 Visit to Situm Community School

Last week Tiarna and the two Grade 4 classes at TISOL visited Situm Community School for an excursion. (ADRA PNG has had a long association with the Situm Community) Situm is located about 15 minutes drive East along the coast from Lae.

The classes have been studying changes in housing in class and had a chance to compare traditional housing to modern PNG housing as well as make connections with Grade 4 at another school.

Tiarna and Hannah

Some of the river crossings

Arriving at Situm Community School, with Tiarna's Teacher Mrs Gregory (in hat), Situm teacher (middle), Andrew Read (TISOL Principal) and Andrew Vanderheide (School Board chair and father)

Inside the classroom.

Sharing ideas and information between students of the two schools.Some TISOL students donated books to the Situm school library.

Many schools have non-permanent buildings to cover the large increases in enrolments which the governments cannot keep up with. This is one of these classrooms at Situm.
Saying goodbye to everyone. The fences surround all buildings here in PNG to slow down vandalism and theft. The students and teachers are on the inside of the school fence.
The class then visited another community where they learned about some farming and more about housing.

Security in Lae

This was an article in June 16 National Newspaper. It has it all: attacking the national government, giving reasons for the security problems, blaming the criminals and even attacking the churches. I love the hiring of Menyamya archers (Menyamya is a remote region of Morobe Province located near Southern Highlands).

Wenge, Khay vow to rid city of Hooligans

Morobe Governor Luther Wenge and Lord Mayor James Khay have taken a step to clean the streets of pick-pockets, street peddlers and hawkers and win back some peace and order into the city.

They have authorised a security force of Menyamya archers to rid the city's hot spots of Eriku, Top Town and main market bus stops, of the notorious street peddlers.

"Lae city belongs to Papua New Guineans and the international community; there is no place for these petty arrogant rat-like perpetrators in public places and disturb and frighten people, harass women, children and the old people," Mr Wenge said.

Mr Wenge and Mr Khay were speaking at the Abunaka market at Nine-Mile, where more than 1,000 people had gathered to formally launch the Menyamya-Morobe Security Service Company last Friday.

A similar force of mainly Menyamyas, called the Maus Morobe, was set up in the mid-90s to police law and order when crime had risen beyond "the capacity of law enforcement agencies.

In recent months, the street hawkers and peddlers have been accused of stealing, stabbing and rape.

Their capacity for wanton destruction was seen at its worst during last month’s riots against Chinese traders at the main market and Eriku.

"Morobe is preaching too much of Christianity and Good News for the Grace of God…Grace…and this Grace paved the way for the wild dogs to start inflicting pain and suffering upon Christian flocks," Mr Wenge said

"Nau mi rausim karamap bilong bainat na putim em ples klia. (I am now removing this bayonet from its sheath.) God shall bless this bayonet" Mr Wcnge said metaphorically.

"Why should human beings suffer, fall prey and die from the hands of those reckless lazy people scavenging city streets … while the National Government fails its constitutional obligation to fund law enforcing agencies to implement duties effectively for a peaceful society?” Mr Wenge asked