Four female students from Yangoru-Saussia graduate with Nursing Degrees

Four female students from Yangoru-Saussia District who graduated with flying colours last Sunday with bachelor’s degree in Nursing at the Pacific Adventist University have expressed gratitude to their Local Member and the Minister for Trade Commerce & Industry, Richard Maru for his kind gesture in initiating the first of its kind Tertiary School Fee Subsidy Scheme which had greatly benefited them since 2012.

In a brief gathering hosted last night in Port Moresby, the students spoke highly of how this new School Fee Subsidy Scheme had benefited them in light of the financial difficulties that their village-based parents are faced with.

Many parents or ordinary villagers who once depended on cocoa as their main cash crop suffered when the cocoa pod borer disease wiped out all their cocoa plantations.

The students highlighted that the Yangoru-Saussia District Development Authority under the bold leadership of Minister Maru have made a good decision to uphold the school fee subsidy which will go a long way in developing the District’s human resource in the years to come.

These four nursing students, Sandra Haffa,24, Irish Kreng,23, Sylvia Wukawa 24,and Mary Sungu, 24 all from Kubalia area in the Yangoru-Saussia District will now go back to the District to help their communities where they will be stationed in various Community Health Posts, Health Centers and the District’s hospital to deliver health services.

The Yangoru-Saussia District initially signed an agreement with the four students to sponsor them with the view that they be contracted to serve the District.

Their commitment to give back their services to the District will also go a long way in minimizing the problem of staff shortages facedby Health facilities in Yangoru-Saussia District over the last 40 years resulting in people suffering from lack of health services.

Many health facilities have also been run down with health workers abandoning them to work elsewhere in light of the poor infrastructure and the lack of financial support that the past leaders have offered.

Meanwhile Minister Maru when speaking during the dinner last night thanked the students on behalf of the District for their efforts and commitment in ensuring that they successfully have completed their schooling.

“Our people’s future will depend entirely on the decisions by our elites to return and serve the District. It’s time we change the norm where sepiks travel to other provinces to look for jobs. We currently have third generations of sepiks in nearly all New Guinea Islands provinces,” said Minister Maru.

“After serving the National Development Bank (NDB) as Managing Director for 8 years and traveling around the country, I discovered that sepiks were everywhere in the country looking for job opportunities so I decided to go back to the District and serve my people. But as a leader I would need a team that includes nurses, teachers, engineers, the police and partners like investors and donors etc to help me to develop the District and improve the lives of my people,” he said.

“I may have the dream but if I don’t have professionals like teachers and nurses to help me out, then the District will not be able to deliver basic services like health and education amongst others. The District is starting to invest in building essential infrastructures like roads, aid posts, police barracks and classrooms therefore we will need to compliment these infrastructures with a boost in human resources”.

He said for 40 years, past leaders have not realized the importance of developing and educating the District’s human resources. The development of our human resources will obviously bring rapid development into the District.

The District has also made commitments to invest in building Public servants housing.

Minister Maru further highlighted that as a responsible leader he fully appreciates the financial hardships the ordinary village based parents are facing and hence the need for the District to intervene with some assistance”, said Minister Maru.

He said the assistance is also in line with the District’s stated policy of Education being the District’s very important policy priority.

Minister Maru further urged the students to put to good use the knowledge they have acquired whilst in school.

“Yangoru-Saussia District Development Authority is now counting on you to help its people and we are excited that for the first time we will have nursing officers with degrees going back to the District and serve the people in our four major Health Centers and the the District hospital which we are going to build from next year onwards”, said Minister Maru.

Picture Caption: 

1. Graduation Photo-From Left to Right- Sylvia Wukawa,Irish Kreng,Sandra Haffa and Mary Sungu graduated with Bachelors Degree in Nursing at the Pacific Adventist University (PAU) last Sunday.

2. Dinner Photo- From Left to Right- Mary Sungu,Irish Kreng Sandra Haffa and Sylvia Wukawa. Minister Maru hosted the dinner to thank the students for successfully completing their schooling and graduating with flying colours.