ExxonMobil provides US$1 million for earthquake relief efforts in Papua New Guinea

• Company assisting in relief and recovery efforts; flies relief organizations to affected area
• Working closely with government agencies to determine where and how to direct resources
• Assessment of company operations and facilities continues

IRVING, Texas – Exxon Mobil Corporation said today that it is providing $1 million for the humanitarian relief effort in Papua New Guinea to assist communities affected by a powerful earthquake and aftershocks in the country’s Highlands area.
“We are deeply saddened by the devastation this earthquake has brought to Papua New Guinea,” said Darren W. Woods, chairman and chief executive officer.
"Our highest priority remains the safety and security of people in the Highlands community.
It’s our hope that our contributions of funding, equipment
and other support will provide some relief in a very challenging situation.”
ExxonMobil is assisting national and international aid agencies and relief organisations with rapid response community assessments.
 The company is sourcing tarpaulins, water purification tablets, waterc ontainers, food and other humanitarian supplies, and is working with essential service providers to pre-position and distribute resources to areas in the greatest need.
 ExxonMobil is also helping to reestablish reliable communications, providing phones to relief agencies and organising community meetings.
“In response to the prime minister’s immediate state of emergency, we have committed to deploying our
expertise and resources to aid recovery efforts in the wake of this natural disaster,” said Andrew Barry, managing director of ExxonMobil PNG.
 “We are working closely with the National Disaster Centre, aid
agencies and our community partners to determine where best to direct our resources.”
On Thursday, ExxonMobil, utilising a company-chartered helicopter, led a team of emergency assessment and relief personnel on one of the first visits to the Highlands area since the disaster.
On board were disaster assessors from international aid agencies and representatives of various relief organiSations including the United Church, Salvation Army, International Organisation for Migration,dventist Development and Relief Agency and the United Nations Development Programme.
Anticipating immediate resource needs, the team delivered essentials, including shelter equipment, water and sanitation support to the Para Health Clinic, which serves the Para, Tokaju and Hides areas.

Status of ExxonMobil’s Papua New Guinea operations

The company continues to assess operations and facilities in the country.
 Operations have been safely shut down at two liquefied natural gas trains at its PNG LNG plant near Port Moresby, the Hides Gas
Conditioning Plant and Hides well pads in Hela province, and non-essential personnel from the Hides plant have been evacuated.
There is no damage to the pipeline and no reports of gas leaks from the complexes.

Dot Island

By Moasing Nalu

Oh how peaceful you are
My beautiful island home
Your turquoise seas and lush green hills
Are Mother Nature's splendour

Your colourful reefs and tropical trees
Are the best things I've ever seen
And when the sun goes down
Cool breezes come around

And palm trees sway and swing
As if they're dancing to the wind
And the melody 
The ocean sings

At last when the sun goes down
And brightness begins to fade
From a distance I can see a majestic sight
Which fills me with pride

-Picture by Milen Stiliyanov
PS: Dot Island is in Laukanu, Salamaua, Morobe

Death of rugby league star unites PNG

The shackles of regionalism and tribalism that so divided Papua New Guinea have been broken.

Tears fell freely for most. A moment they shall never forget, as s the death of our champion brought together a nation.

It has taken the life of a 23-year-old rugby league star to do that.
Papua New Guinea international Kato Ottio died on Tuesday after he collapsed at training in Port Moresby.

The sight that moved everyone to tears. Joyce Ottio, mother of Kumuls' superstar Kato Ottio, is comforted by Widnes Vikings-bound Wellington Albert after the funeral service at Sir John Guise Stadium. Ottio and Albert were to have left for England on Thursday, but for Ottio's death.

Ottio spent the last two years with the Canberra Raiders and had just signed with English Super League club Widnes Vikings following his stellar World Cup campaign.
Thousands of people gathered at the Sir John Guise Indoor Stadium on Friday to pay their final respects to a young man who had so touched our lives with his performance during the World Cup.

Hunters' and Kumuls' coach Michael Marum breaks down as he hands Kato Ottio's red, black and gold jumper to his mother Joyce Ottio at Friday's funeral service.

Tears fell freely for most, a moment they shall never forget, as the death of our champion brought together a nation.

We came together. All shackles of regionalism and tribalism broken. It had taken the life of a young man, who touched us all with his rugby league skills, to bring us together.

Ottio and PNG Kumuls' teammate Wellington Albert were to have left for England on Thursday after signing up with the Vikings last month.

He ain't heavy, he's my brother: Kumuls' team mates carry the casket of Kato Ottio out of the Sir John Guise Stadium.

Ottio will be buried at his Tatana village in Port Moresby next Tuesday.

Farewell Kato Ottio. Thank you for the wonderful memories.

Respect: Hundreds line up Sir John Guise Drive as the hearse carrying the body of Kato Ottio leaves after the funeral service at the indoor stadium.

Pilot was a world-class pianist

The National

North Coast Aviation Pilot David Tong, who lost his life in the rugged Saruwaged Range of Morobe in the Dec 23 air crash, was not just an ordinary aviator.

He was one of the top pianists in Australia and the world.

He could have chosen to remain in the top music halls of the world but opted to fly in Papua New Guinea.

David Tong the pianist at a concert.-Picture by Greater Geraldton Regional Library website.

David Tong with North Coast Aviation chief pilot Thomas Keindip in March 2017. Kendip died on Nov 26, 2017, after a short illness.-Picture from Thomas Keindip Facebook page

That fact about Tong’s life became known after his death.

His body, meantime, remain at the funeral home in Lae until funeral arrangements are made this week.

His mother flew in from Australian to see the body of her son and was moved to tears after seeing the display of emotions shown by NCA staff and the people of Morobe

According to the Greater Geraldton Regional Library website of Australia: “Born in Macao in 1983, David Tong migrated to Australia in 1988 and soon began taking piano lessons.

“Following an extensive period of study, he went on to study at the prominent Juilliard School of Music in New York and was awarded the Vladimir Horowitz scholarship.

“In addition to having been a frequent guest artist with all Australian symphony orchestras, David was regularly invited to appear with many of today’s top orchestras including the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra in Budapest, New York Philharmonic, as well as with the philharmonic orchestras of Rochester, Naples (Florida), and Hong Kong

“Of significant importance in David’s career was a performance with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the 2002 Sydney Festival’s Gala Domain Concert, where he performed to an audience of more than 90,000 people.”

Since 2014, Tong had worked as a commercial pilot.

He was based in Geraldton and worked as a line pilot for Geraldton Air Charter before moving to PNG in 2016 to join North Coast Aviation.

Tong, 34, survived the crash and made calls on his mobile but bad weather prevented rescuers from reaching him for three days.

The pianist Zsolt Bognar writes: “It is with great sadness that I learn my old friend David Tong was found dead on Tuesday from injuries sustained in a plane crash.

“I remember first meeting him in Texas in 2001 and being struck by his sunshine-filled spirit, his strong Australian accent, and vivacious temperament.

“He was an incredible pianist with a breathtaking technique–I remember how he burst into my practice room and deployed Chopin Etudes with ease–and as a human being and friend he will be missed.

“What devastating news.”

###

Late December 2017

By Malum Nalu

I take a walk along 2017 Lane
Enjoying the late December weather
Place looks glorious
After the 12th month rain

At every corner
Fresh fruit and vegetables
A good feeling in my heart
A spring in my step for 2018

Governor-General pays tribute to bush pilots of Morobe

Governor-General Sir Bob Dadae says the loss of another North Coast Aviation pilot is a great loss to the people of Kabwum, Morobe and Papua New Guinea.
The former Kabwum MP said this yesterday when passing his condolences to NCA on the loss of  Australian pilot, David Tong, after a Britten Norman Islander  crash on Mt Saruwaged in the rugged Saruwaged Range of Morobe last Saturday.
His death comes after that of NCA's chief pilot Captain Thomas Keindip, from Kabwum, after a short illness last month.

North Coast Aviation pilots Thomas Kendip and David Tong at Tari Airport, Hela, in June this year.

Tong crashed into Mt Saruwaged, the fourth highest mountain in the country at 13,520 feet above sea level, in very bad weather when returning to Lae from Kabwum.
From Melbourne, Australia, Tong joined NCA in Nov 2016 and has been described by friends and family as a friendly and likeable person.
He was alive when he crashed at 9000ft and called NCA at Nadzab on his mobile phone, however, bad weather prevented rescue teams from going in.

North Coast Aviation pilots Thomas Kendip and David Tong at Tari Airport, Hela, in June this year.

It was only on Tuesday, four days after the crash, that a search-and-rescue team from Porgera mine went into the crash site but Tong was already dead.
The death has already sparked off much controversy over search-and-rescue efforts, given that the crash site is not that far away from Nadzab, and the fact that he was alive at the time of the crash.

David Tong, Thomas Keindip and a fellow North Coast Aviation pilot at Teptep airstrip in Kabwum, Morobe, earlier this year.

Sir Bob said it was only because of dedicated NCA pilots like Tong and Keindip that goods and services had reached Kabwum over the years.
"Lady Hannah and I, on behalf of our family, people of Kabwum, Morobe and PNG would like to express our deepest sorrow and sadness to the family, management and staff of NCA for the death of another experienced pilot (Tong) in a short time after we lost Capt Thomas (Keindip) not long ago," he said.
"Having benefitted so much from NCA during my 30 years service in the province, I am very saddened by these tragedies.
"May God give everyone peace."

The man I never knew

By Malum Nalu

As I look into the face in the photo
Into the eyes of the man I never knew

I see the pain
The hurt

He shows me the cloud-covered Saruwaged
The treetops
I hear the crunch
As the plane hits the branches

I see the hope in his eyes
As he makes an SOS
Hoping against hope
In the freezing cold as the pain sets in

I see the hurt
Of missing Christmas with loved ones
Help is not coming
Darkness is closing in

- To the Memory of David Tong
Who lost his life in the Saruwaged Range
Serving the people of Kabwum, Morobe and Papua New Guinea