Comments

Hi Ian, this photo was supplied to us by the Oaktree Foundation, it would be best to get in touch with them to ask if they have a contact. Their website is Oaktree.org.

I taught in PNG from 1966 to 1978 at Kumbareta and also Lapalama (Enga Province). The site of the Kumbareta Primary School was the site of the Baiyer River Vocational School (formerly Baiyer River Junior Technical School). The principal of the Kumbareta High School is Mane Tambili. I taught Mane when he was in Standard 3 at Lapalama Primary T School where I was the principal. Are you in contact with Mane as a result of your research and if so are you able to put me in touch with him? Many thanks, Ian

I agree with everything you wrote, but the reality is that we are in an extremely competitive industry, with particular pressure on the business development side. Donors don't make it easy, with procurement procedures that require a huge amount of work and resources to prepare a compliant proposal. In the U.S., some large international development consulting firms (and NGOs) have developed proposal factories and it takes tremendous resources and a lot of hard work to compete with them. The trick is how to achieve the right balance of being a successful organization, i.e., competitive with the factories, while slowing down to focus on how to help the poor and our other counterparts and beneficiaries and take care of our own mental and physical health. This requires excellent and enlightened management.

Wonderful insight

Glenn and John, Good backgrounder for people who are interested. Some of the problems (resettlement for example) might have been better addressed if the soft diplomacy/engagement through the use of experienced PNG people had continued as per Placers' time rather than hard security and a concentration of ex military and police in engagement roles. Others from that time have recently been in contact and I am partly quoting their thoughts which I endorse. Without a long term engagement the problems in general will not be solved. If the hardline security remains unchanged these problems will never be solved.

I for one think that the present government will be out soon and that’s what we need isn’t it chuck. I mean to say they don’t do nowt.

Thank you for the issue which our youth people faced today. Much better ways that we can keep up to date and work on areas that need to keep them safe and do involve in activities that can change their behaviours to become better citizens in the future.

Gentlemen, a very good history and analysis. So many so called experts like yourself continue to end up painting negative pictures of decisions that have been made without offering solutions to assisting in anyway. Such skepticism is a norm yet we have time and time again proven critics wrong. Our government made the decision with a good intent and for us the 8+million population. Fyi ML had expired and they made that decision based on recommendations from the advisory team thereforeyour term snatching is not appropriate.

Having spent a year in south Bougainville I know the community in Buin and was happy and relieved to hear the health centre staff were preparing well. There is no connectivity at the health facility and any other comms relies on the use of limited personal data. Good luck in supporting this often forgotten community at the end of a long road 😊

Hi Moana Naura, it is a really great explanation.

This may be Phillip but the people there are; neither Hmong and the place is 100% not Ban Vinai Refugees Camp, Thailand.

Thanks Professor Stephen and Sherman, “Countries in the Pacific – Kiribati, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu – remain COVID-19 free”. This is the best news I heard and read in the last few months. In my home Bangladesh not a single district (city) and even union (the lowest tier of local government) free from corona virus pandemic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Bangladesh#Statistics Regards Shoma