Vale Rev Peter Holloway - Warrior-Priest

Rev Peter Holloway, who died in the early hours of this morning, aged 92, was one of the heroes of the Kokoda campaign in WWII and a minister for 64 years.

Peter was raised on a dairy farm in Bairnsdale Victoria, schooled at Ivanhoe Anglican Grammar School and initially became a bank officer in 1937. He began studying for holy orders shortly afterward. When World War II broke out, he sought and received permission from his Bishop to enlist. He volunteered for the famous militia unit, the 39th Australian Infantry Battalion, not as a padre but as a Digger.

Peter and his comrades arrived in Moresby on 4 January 1942 on the SS Aquitania and spent five months building defences for 7 Mile Airport (modern-day Jackson’s Airport). In July he was transferred to 30 Brigade HQ where he celebrated his 21st birthday helping to prepare the ‘biscuit bombing’ (supplying food and ammunition to the troops) by Dakotas over Myola on the Kokoda Track.

In November 1942, Peter fought in the Beachheads Campaign around Buna, Gona, and Sanananda. There he contracted malaria and scrub typhus and his health was badly affected. In April 1944 he was eventually medically discharged from the Army.

Peter returned to his studies and retrained at Ridley Theological College. He was ordained a priest in 1948 and held multiple posts including Rector of the Parish of Boort (1957),Vicar of Parish of Chelsea (1963), Vicar of Parish of Strathmore (1969), full-time chaplain at Melbourne Airport (1973), and Vice President of the International Association Civil Aviation Chaplains (1976).

Peter returned twice to Papua New Guinea after the war, most recently in July 2009, when he visited Port Moresby, Owers Corner, Milne Bay, Kokoda, Gona, Sanananda, Buna, Awala, Doboduru, Rabaul, and Atherton Tablelands in North Queensland.

Peter was a Life Member of the 39th Battalion Association, one of its board members and the editor of the Association newsletter, The Good Guts.

In October 2011, aged 90, Peter delivered an unforgettable address at our annual Ralph Honner Leadership Oration, the first by a Kokoda veteran. He reflected on the motto of the 39th Battalion ‘Factis non verbis’ – ‘actions, not words’.

The Foundation’s Kokoda College will preserve the memory of Peter and his comrades in its motto, translated into tok pisin, ‘Wokim ino Tok Tok’.

Kokoda College ... the Game Changer

Think of Darwin, Hobart and Cairns. If you add every man, woman and child in these cities together you’ll reach around 500,000 - the number of kids in PNG who are missing out on an education because they have either no school or no teacher!

This week the Foundation took a major step towards addressing this sad situation. After three years of planning, we gave the green light to our most ambitious project, Kokoda College, the first teaching college to be built in a rural region in PNG.

Our builder, Tereno Pty Ltd of Ulladulla on the NSW south coast, has started pre-fabricating the initial seven core college buildings. They’ll be packed in seven containers - like giant Ikea flatpacks – and delivered to the college site at Kou Kou village, a 10 minute walk from Kokoda plateau.

Our teams of volunteers will construct the buildings on site, starting in October. We plan to have the college open for its first intake of students for the first semester of 2014.

The college will initially have a school of teaching (offering courses for elementary and primary school teachers) and a school of health (for training Community Health Workers – the PNG equivalent of bush GPs).

Kokoda College will be a game changer: it will be able to provide all the needed teachers and Community Health Workers in the Kokoda catchment region within the first three years of operation.

We’ve created a special website, www.kokodacollege.org, where you can check out all details of the College, including plans for the campus and buildings and how to donate to help build and run the college and to join our volunteer teams to help build it.

If you can support us in any way to help develop Kokoda College and change the lives of the descendants of the beloved Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, please contact us online or in person.

Patrick's Interview with Carpe Librum

Interview with Tracey Allen, author of Carpe Librum blog:

Patrick Lindsay is a prolific Australian author, having published 18 books on the back of an extremely successful career as a journalist, TV reporter and presenter.  In December I reviewed his book Back From The Dead - Peter Hughes' Story of Survival and Hope After Bali, giving it 5 stars.

Patrick joined me recently to answer some interview questions.

Patrick, what inspired you to write about the Bali bombings of 2002 and survivor Peter Hughes in particular?
I was working on a book called The Spirit of The Digger when, like all Australians, I was stunned by the reports of the Bali bombing. I watched transfixed as the chilling images unfolded on the TV. As I watched, I was struck by the spirit of the survivors and their rescuers. I realised I was watching the same spirit I was researching. Gen Peter Cosgrove had told me that you didn't have to wear the slouch hat to have the spirit of the Digger. It occurred to me that we all have that spirit within us and that it came out in times of crisis - terrorism, bush-fires, floods, etc. I decided I should explore it further by writing about the story behind the main face of the Bali attack, Peter Hughes. Of course, I didn't know whether he would survive: it was touch and go then and he actually died a number of times and was brought back to life. I contacted him when I heard he was recuperating. He agreed to let me tell his story. We're good mates now.

What was the hardest part of writing or researching Back From The Dead? How did the book change you?
It was a very emotional journey. Peter was still in the early stages of his recovery when I started interviewing him. He endured great pain and he suffered many doubts but his spirit always shone through. His son Leigh was an extraordinary support and became his rock. It was difficult to reconcile the callous violence and fanaticism of the bombers with the gentle humanity of the Balinese and the idyllic beauty of their country. I was intrigued by the intersecting time lines of the lives of the perpetrators and the victims and I decided to use that as a device to unfold the central storyline. The hardest part was pushing on with the work when I knew how painful it often was for Peter. I learned much as a person from observing Peter, his fellow survivors and their remarkable healing angels, especially Dr's Fiona Wood and John Greenwood.

Publishing 18 books is an incredible achievement in any author's career.  Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
I think persistence is a writer's greatest asset. I was a journalist and a TV reporter and presenter for more than 25 years before I started writing books full time. I have always been telling stories of some kind or another. Books require a special determination - to secure an overview of the scope of the work involved and to doggedly fight through the research and writing to completion. But if you know what you want to say then you'll find a way to do it. Treat your writing with respect, find a haven where you can work without distraction and then just start. Also read voraciously and write as often as you can.

What can you tell us about your research and writing process?  Does your background in journalism assist you in your research?
Yes, I think being a journalist, especially starting as a newspaper journalist before computers and the Internet, taught me the value of relentless research and gave me a healthy scepticism. Unlike a lot of journos today, we had to sniff out our own stories, not wait for press releases. I learned not to accept things at face value and to cross check facts and statements. I love the benefits brought by the digital age but the downside can be the lure of Google and the unquestioning acceptance of facts, just because they are on the screen. Whenever possible I dig back to primary sources, rather than relying on someone else's interpretation of them.

Patrick Lindsay's newest release

How long do you spend on each book and how do you decide what you will write about next?
On average I would spend about three months intensively researching and around the same time writing a book. This can vary widely. I spent almost two years on my last book, True Blue, 150 Years of NSW Police Force. It was a far bigger project than I first imagined. It's often difficult to accurately assess the size of projects as the research can take you down unexpected paths. That book was commissioned by the NSW Police; the first I've done that way. All the other books have come from an idea I've developed or from a suggestion from the publisher. 

A large portion of your books are related to the Australian Defence Force and military history; can you tell us more about your interest in these areas?
It started with my interest in Kokoda, or more accurately my love for the men who fought there. I wrote, produced and directed a documentary for the Australian Army on the Kokoda Campaign back in 1991 and many of the Diggers I interviewed for it became treasured friends. My first book was The Spirit of Kokodaand the other books, like The Spirit of The Digger, Cosgrove, Fromelles, The Coastwatchers, etc seemed like natural progressions. It's not that I have a love of war or military history so much: rather I have a fascination with what war does to people and how they respond to it. It prompts the most remarkable responses from ordinary men and women. But I also write on very different subjects and I'm passionate about my It's Never Too Late series of inspirational books.

After such a successful career in journalism and television, are you ever pulled in too many directions or turn down interesting projects in favour of writing?
Yes, I've spent a dozen years now writing books and in that time I've declined quite a number of interesting opportunities in TV and other areas of the media. I created  the format for the reality TV series, In Their Footsteps, which Nine broadcast last year. It was a ratings success and I'm working on some similar programs. I'm aiming to expand my work in that field next year. 

Do you have a favourite bookshop you'd like to tell us about?
My favourite is Helen Baxter's lovely little bookshop in McMahon's Point in Sydney [Blues Point Bookshop].  Helen is a prodigious reader and a great source of literary advice.

What's next?  Do you have anything in the pipeline for 2013?
I'm working on another inspirational book and a number of television projects. 2013 is shaping as a very busy year.

Anything else you'd like to add?
Like most authors (and publishers) I'm trying to come to terms with the often bewildering changes to the publishing world. I'm trying to understand the e-book options.  I'm very optimistic about the future. I think it may open opportunities for authors to take greater control of their own work and destinies.

Thank you Tracey for your blog and for all your work to spread the word on the pleasures of reading and writing.  I'm delighted you enjoyed Back From The Dead.

A Breath of Fresh Air

The Prime Minister of our nearest neighbour, the Hon Peter O'Neill, Chief Minister of Papua New Guinea, spoke in Sydney yesterday at the Lowy Institute, with a refreshing candour, an admirable holistic overview of his country's needs and opportunities and a plan for its future.

The theme of Mr O'Neill's speech was 'PNG in the Asian Century' but he ranged much wider in his address and during the following question time. 

We are not accustomed to a political leader willing to concede mistakes and admit problems. PM O'Neill was a breath of fresh air as he spoke of his desire to unite his diverse nation and to provide them with desperately-needed infrastructure so his people can find their share of the region's prosperity. 

He is a quietly spoken man, with an understated strength of character and sense of purpose who has already impressed many with his negotiating ability: he has managed to secure a commitment from his parliament that there will be no motions of no confidence for the next two and half years. Something our PM can only dream about.

In his quiet way, PM O'Neill is seeking a change in the relationship between our countries: he wants an equal partnership and he wants a far greater say in the way our international aid is delievered to his country. In particular, he wants more of the aid spent to improve PNG's roads, ports and other transport infrastructure. There is method in his approach.

Around 80% of PNG's seven million people live in rural areas, with little or no infrastructure. Their future is severely hamstrung by the difficulties in getting their crops to markets or getting all manner of improvements (schools, hospitals, supplies) into their regions.

All those who work in PNG and who wish her well will be looking with interest at the Australian Government's response to PM O'Neill's entreaties.

The Professor changes his tune

Despite what the revisionist historians try to tell us, the men of Kokoda safeguarded our nation’s freedom during our darkest hours. Indeed, if Gallipoli was the birthplace of the Anzac spirit in World War One, then Kokoda was surely its Second World War equivalent.

Recently, a group of experts met at a talkfest at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. It was called ‘Kokoda ... Beyond the Legend’. News reports of the two-day event quote Professor David Horner and other military historians there as attacking what they call the “excessive mythology” of the Kokoda campaign. They say the Japanese never intended to invade Australia and Kokoda was not the battle for Australia. 

Interestingly, Professor Horner seems to have dramatically changed his viewpoint down the years. Here's what he said (on videotape) in an interview he gave me for the doco "Kokoda ... The Bloody Track", in 1991: "Combined with the Guadalcanal campaign, the Kokoda campaign marked the turning point of the war in the South-West Pacific. No longer would the Japanese be able to pose a direct threat to Australia."

and again: "In terms of the direct affect on Australia, Kokoda was the most important battle fought by the Australians in the Second War. And, in its general importance to Australia, Kokoda ranks right up there in importance with the legendary Gallipoli campaign.”

Back then Professor Horner saw the Japanese as posing a direct threat to Australia, extinguished by the Diggers fighting on the Track: “It was a daring gamble by the Japanese, which might well have come off had it not been for the heroic rearguard fighting of the Australians in the mountains.” He seems to have a polar opposite view today! 

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A few simple facts point to the Japanese intentions at the time: Firstly, when the Japanese invaded Rabaul and then Papua, they had already invaded Australian sovereign territory. Indeed, the whole of the Kokoda campaign was fought on Australian territory. 

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Secondly, when they landed at Gona and until they reached Ioribaiwa, the Japanese aim was to capture Port Moresby … otherwise, why were they evacuating their wounded forward down the track and widening the track as they went to accommodate their subsequent horses and supplies and why were they carrying Australian invasion currency? 

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Thirdly, in 1990 I interviewed 17 Japanese Kokoda campaign veterans in Tokyo and Kochi (for the same doco for which I interviewed Prof Horner). It was a substantial representation of their survivors … and, without exception, every one of them thought they were coming to Australia! 

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Fourthly, as Capt Bede Tongs MM of the 3^rd Battalion, pointed out after listening to the Canberra conference: the Australian Diggers on the track fought, and died, believing they were defending their loved ones in Australia.

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And what a price they paid. At Isurava, Brigade Hill, Mission Ridge, Ioribaiwa, Templeton’s Crossing, Eora Creek, Oivi-Gorari and the beachheads at Buna, Gona, and Sanananda, the jungles were sewn heavily with Australian blood, as so many proud battalions were whittled down to almost platoon strength.

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Had the Japanese invaders been able to roll over the Australian defenders along the track - as they originally planned - and been able to capture Port Moresby, do you seriously think they wouldn’t have reconsidered plans to isolate, subjugate or take Australia?

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Australians owe an eternal debt to the men who fought in the Kokoda Campaign … those still with us today … and those who have left us ... men like Bruce Kingsbury, John Metson, Charlie McCallum, Butch Bisset, Claude Nye, Mocca Treacy, Tom Fletcher and so many more who sleep at Bomana War Cemetery in Port Moresby. Those heroes neither sought nor received recognition for their bravery.

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As, a Kokoda veteran, Colin Blume, once told me: “Anyone who turned up to those hellish battles should have got a gong!”

AN OPEN LETTER TO PNG & AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTERS

AN OPEN LETTER 

To         PNG Prime Minister, The Honourable Peter O’Neill and

            Australian Prime Minister, The Honourable Julia Gillard

Please reinstate the PNG-Australia Policing Initiative and create a police academy in PNG. 

Last week’s murder of student Rex John at Laloki on the outskirts of Port Moresby is a wake-up call for PNG and Australian leaders.

It highlights the urgent need for the reinstatement of the PNG-Australia policing initiative (under which Australian police helped their PNG counterparts with training, mentoring and the creation of structures for governance).

Rex was travelling to Moresby last Monday to collect his academic gown for his graduation the following weekend as a Community Health Worker. A gang of cowardly thugs attacked his bus, bashing and stabbing the passengers with bush knives and machetes. Rex died of his wounds that evening.

Rex John’s needless death robbed his father and nine brothers and sisters of a loving son and brother. It deprived his village of Naduri of Rex’s hard-won skills as their first-ever Community Health Worker. And it denied PNG the benefits of a fine young man who hoped to serve his nation in the same timeless, selfless tradition of the revered Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels.

Rex had showed the way to a better future for his nation. He was one of those quiet achievers who are the essential foundations of a healthy and sustainable society. Rex was one of the 1 out of 100 kids who start school in PNG and who make it through to Year 10. He was one of the even smaller group who make it through to tertiary studies. Rather than being motivated by making money or becoming a Big Man in politics, Rex was determined to help his family, his community and his country by serving them as a qualified Community Health Worker.

Rex had done all the hard work. He had won a scholarship with the Kokoda Track Foundation, studied diligently and had passed his exams. He was looking forward to his graduation last weekend and to being posted back to his village of Naduri, bringing, for the first time, desperately-need medical skills to the community he loved. 

PNG’s ‘Vision 2050’ Plan targets seven ‘key outcomes’. One of them is improved law and order: “Improving the law and order situation is essential to laying the foundations for socioeconomic growth and establishing investor confidence. Adequate budgetary allocations to the RPNGC [Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary] and the broader law and justice sector is necessary to combat law and order problems.

Last year’s Australia-PNG Ministerial Forum recognised that … “Deterioration of law and order hinders development and disrupts delivery of government services and business. It inhibits the effectiveness of development assistance; it has a serious negative impact on investor confidence and on the quality of life of individuals.”

Prime Ministers, it is time for decisive leadership. It is time for a positive response to the growing levels of violence.

PNG’s leaders must act immediately to bring Rex John’s killers to justice and they must redouble their efforts to fight against the violence that dishonours their capital city. For, until Papuan New Guineans can walk the streets of their capital without fear, PNG’s leaders cannot hold their heads high.

Australia’s leaders must also act to help our nearest neighbour to combat the deleterious effects of the violence plaguing Moresby and other PNG cities. For it is to our lasting shame that no two neighbouring nations in the world have a greater disparity in poverty and wealth (as measured by the U.N. Human Development Index) than Australia and PNG. 

Please join together to reinstate the PNG-Australia Police Initiative as a matter of urgency to prevent the loss of any more precious lives like Rex John.

Patrick Lindsay, Chairman, Kokoda Track Foundation

REX'S DEATH IS A CRY FOR HELP

Last week’s murder of student Rex John at Laloki on the outskirts of Port Moresby is a wake-up call for PNG and Australian leaders.

It highlights the urgent need for the reinstatement of the PNG-Australia policing initiative (under which Australian police helped their PNG counterparts with training, mentoring and the creation of structures for governance).

Rex was travelling to Moresby last Monday to collect his academic gown for his graduation the following weekend as a Community Health Worker. A gang of cowardly thugs attacked his bus, bashing and stabbing the passengers with bush knives and machetes. Rex died of his wounds that evening.

PNG’s National 'Vision 2050' targets seven ‘key outcomes’. One of them is improved law and order: “Improving the law and order situation is essential to laying the foundations for socioeconomic growth and establishing investor confidence. Adequate budgetary allocations to the RPNGC [Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary] and the broader law and justice sector is necessary to combat law and order problems.”

Last year’s Australia-PNG Ministerial Forum recognised that … “Deterioration of law and order hinders development and disrupts delivery of government services and business. It inhibits the effectiveness of development assistance; it has a serious negative impact on investor confidence and on the quality of life of individuals.”

It is time for decisive leadership. It is time for a positive response to the violence. PNG’s leaders must act immediately to bring Rex John’s killers to justice and they must redouble their efforts to fight against the violence that shames their capital city.

One immediate response should be for the PNG and Australian Governments to join together to resinstate their joint policing initiative. It will provide PNG police with practical training and mentoring to better equip them to handle the growing violence and corruption. This should be followed by talks to establish a national police academy to provide a system under which overall police skills and standards can be lifted. 

For, until Papuan New Guineans can walk the streets of their capital without fear, PNG’s leaders cannot hold their heads high. 

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LET US HONOUR AN UNSUNG HERO

In the early hours of last Monday morning in Port Moresby the terrible price of the random violence that plagues PNG’s capital was laid bare for all to see and a nation lost a precious piece of its future.

Near Laloki on the city’s outskirts, a gang of cowardly thugs in a mini-van forced a PMV off the road and bashed and stabbed its passengers with bush knives and machetes, killing one and leaving another in a critical condition.

The murdered young man, Rex John from Naduri village about halfway along the Kokoda Track, was travelling to Moresby from his teaching college at Veifa’a to pick up the academic gown he hoped to wear to his graduation as a Community Health Worker this coming Saturday.

Rex was travelling on the bus with his friend and fellow Community Health Worker student, Jackson Fred from Efogi village on the Track, who was also to graduate this weekend. Jackson was also stabbed in the attack but is recovering in hospital.

Both Rex and Jackson were studying on scholarships from the Australian-based not-for-profit organization, the Kokoda Track Foundation (KTF). After graduation, Rex was to be posted back to his home village where he would serve as Naduri’s resident Community Health Worker, giving his community access to basic health care for the first time.

Rex John’s needless death was a tragedy in many ways. His father and nine brothers and sisters were robbed of a loving son and brother. His village of Naduri lost Rex’s hard-won skills as their first-ever Community Health Worker. PNG lost a fine young man who hoped to serve his nation in the same timeless, selfless tradition of the revered Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels.

Why was Rex John a hero? Because he showed the way to a better future for his nation. He was one of those quiet achievers who are the essential foundations of a healthy and sustainable society. Rex was one of the 1 out of 100 kids who start school in PNG and who make it through to Year 10. He was one of the even smaller minority who make it through to tertiary studies. Rather than being motivated by making money or becoming a Big Man in politics, Rex was determined to help his family, his community and his country by serving them as a qualified Community Health Worker.

Rex had done all the hard work. He had studied diligently and had passed his exams. He was looking forward to his graduation this weekend and to being posted back to his village of Naduri, bringing, for the first time, desperately-need medical skills to the community he loved.

The Kokoda Track Foundation will honour Rex John by creating a Community Health Worker’s Scholarship in his name and by seeking permission to name the Naduri Aid Post after him.

Rex’s death must not be in vain. He must not become another nameless casualty of the guerilla war waged by the thugs against honest citizens.  

All Papua New Guineans must condemn the cowards who snatched Rex John’s life away.

And PNG’s leaders must act immediately to bring Rex’s killers to justice and they must redouble their efforts to fight against the violence that shames their capital city.

For, until Papuan New Guineans can walk the streets of their capital without fear, PNG’s leaders cannot hold their heads high. 

HOW RANDOM VIOLENCE SHATTERED A VILLAGE'S DREAMS

Early yesterday morning in Port Moresby the terrible price of the mindless violence that plagues PNG’s capital was laid bare.

Near Laloki on the city’s outskirts, a gang of thugs in a mini-van forced a public bus off the road and bashed and stabbed its passengers with bush knives and machetes, killing one and leaving another in a critical condition.

The murdered young man, Rex John from Naduri village about halfway along the Kokoda Track, was travelling to Moresby from his teaching college at Veifa’a about four hours away to pick up the academic gown he hoped to wear to his graduation as a Community Health Worker this coming Saturday.

Both Rex and Jackson were studying on scholarships from the Australian-based not-for-profit organization, the Kokoda Track Foundation (KTF). After graduation, Rex was to be posted back to his home village where he would serve as Naduri’s resident Community Health Worker, giving his community access to basic health care for the first time.

“The Kokoda Track Foundation is deeply saddened and distressed by Rex’s death,” KTF Chairman, Patrick Lindsay said today. “Rex and Jackson were outstanding students – unsung local heroes  - who had spent years studying to acquire desperately-needed medical skills which they hoped to bring back to their remote villages,” Lindsay said.

“It’s a tragedy that some cowardly thugs can snatch Rex’s life away and deprive his family and community of a wonderful young man and the health care he hoped to give them.”

Rex was travelling on the bus with his friend and fellow Community Health Worker student, Jackson Fred from Efogi village on the Track, who was also to graduate this weekend. Jackson was also stabbed in the attack but is recovering in hospital.

Local police were called to the scene after the attack and helped to transport Rex and Jackson to Port Moresby General Hospital. Sadly, Rex’s injuries were too severe and he did not survive the night. Jackson is currently receiving medical treatment for his injuries.

“We strongly condemn the attacks and we call for a detailed investigation into the murder,” Lindsay said. “We send our sincere condolences to Rex’s family and to the Naduri community and we pass on our deep sympathies to their fellow students at St Gerard’s School of Nursing who are all saddened and shocked by the tragedy. We also pass on our best wishes to Jackson for a speedy recovery.”

Over the past two and a half years, the KTF has supporting Rex and Jackson to complete their Diplomas in Community Health Work at St Gerard’s School of Nursing, Veifa’a. Along with two other KTF scholarship trainees, Rex and Jackson were to start work with the Foundation in July, where they were to be posted into aid posts along the Kokoda Track.

“It would have been the first time that all villages along the Kokoda Track had access to qualified community health workers. We will continue to work toward that aim,” Lindsay said.

“The Foundation hopes to honour Rex John by creating a Community Health Worker’s Scholarship in his name and by seeking permission to name the Naduri Aid Post after him.”

More Devastation in PNG's Oro Province ... Help Needed

Just four years after enduring deadly Cyclone Guba, which killed 300 people and devastated the region, Papua New Guinea’s Oro Province has again been hit by severe flooding and leaving at least 11,000 desperately needing urgent help with food and medicine.

The 2011 wet season, which began in November, brought sustained torrential rain, flooding rivers and inundating food gardens in hundreds of coastal and low-lying villages. The Kokoda Track Foundation, which has been working in the region since 2003, has responded with an emergency distribution of 5000 kilograms of rise to 55 villages in the region. But more is urgently needed to help the descendants of the WWII Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels - our nearest neighbours.

By supporting our ‘Oro Emergency Appeal’ you will assist the KTF in both our initial emergency food distribution process as well as giving ongoing support for the flood-affected communities as we help them to re-build their gardens. The KTF will continue to support the region via its existing Northern Province Food Restoration Project after the initial rice distribution, giving villages access to improved strains of crops, including taro, cassava and sweet potato, that are able to grow in water-logged soil and will help villages to quickly restart their food gardens.

The KTF’s representative in Oro Province, Mr Elijah Sarigari said yesterday: “I have been to parts of Oro Bay LLG specially along the Bareji and Pongani rivers and found that many food gardens are still under water due to continuous raining for almost two months now… as a result all the food crops are rotting”.

In 2007, the Province was hit by Cyclone Guba, which killed hundreds and left more than 100,000 without access to food and clean water. Then in 2009, severe flooding hit the province again, just as villagers were getting their lives back together.

All donations over $2 to the Kokoda Track Foundation are tax deductible in Australia. Please go to our website to donate. www.kokodatrackfoundation.org