Caritas seeks food donation

COORDINATOR for Kerema Catholic diocese Caritas office in Gulf province, Joseph Puaka, has appealed for food donations to feed the hungry in the rain-battered Kaintiba and Kontidanga districts.
Mr Puaka made the appeal last Friday after receiving reports that the situation was getting worse with more than 18,000 villagers now “in need of immediate food supplies”.
He said Caritas in Port Moresby had already donated K10,000 to help transport food from Lae.
Caritas is a non-governmental organisation involved in charity and humanitarian activities in many parts of Papua New Guinea.
“The donated fund is being used to buy food to feed those affected,” Mr Puaka said.
He said  he had received quotations for bulk of foods (including bales of rice and tinned fish) from a retail company in Lae.
“Food will be flown in from Lae to Kaintiba where it will be distributed to the people.”
He said the food would be distributed equally to each village and money must also be found to transport food.
Mr Puaka said schools and district hospitals were still operating despite the situation.
“Villagers are helping by getting food for nurses and teachers and their families.”
Mr Puaka said Governor Havilo Kavo had sent a representative to assess the situation and would report back to him soon  so that funds would be made available to help the people in the two districts.