Desperate mum earns visit from Red Cross

By TONY PALME
OFFICIALS from the PNG Red Cross Society Western Highlands branch visited a destitute mother in Jiwaka last Friday after her story and picture went viral on the internet.
Red Cross Mt Hagen branch coordinator Pauline Ross and two of her volunteers met Mama Bii, a single mother who has struggled to raise her son after her husband left them more than 20 years ago.
Red Cross Mt Hagen branch, which does charity work in Western Highlands, Jiwaka, Chimbu, Enga, Southern Highlands and Hela learned about Bii after her story was carried by the daily newspapers.
Likewise, a picture of her paddling through a flooded garden went viral on social media.
Bii was waiting patiently near the roadside at Dona Summit with her 200 bundles of kunai grass for sale when the Red Cross team with Jiwaka disaster coordinator John Kupul met her.
The team went with Bii to her gardens along the Waghi River at Waterlily village, Waghi Bridge.
Ross and disaster team leader James Bonong took reports of the damage caused by the floods to Bii’s gardens and those of 50 other families in the village.
Ross said she became emotional when Bii told of the struggles she went through to ensure her only son John Seine attended school.
“I gathered kunai grass and sold it to pay for my son’s school fees. The community is aware of my case, so they let me cut kunai anywhere,” Bii said.
Her son John is in Grade 12 at Fatima Secondary School and helps her mother do the gardens and fundraising during his school break.
“I was very worried that if he (John) is able to secure a space in college or other tertiary institution next year, I would not know where to get the money for his school fees.
“I sell kunai grass and food crops such as kaukau and beans to earn money for my son’s needs. No one helps me.
“I decided not to get married after my husband left me because I felt sorry for my son.”
Bii’s source of income was badly affected when her gardens were flooded by the Waghi River.