Disabled to lose home

 By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK  

A 27-YEAR-old disabled woman’s home, which was specially built for her by Australian Rotarians, will be demolished to make way for a  four-lane highway in Port Moresby.

Lovelyn Imiri has lived in this two-bedroom house in June Valley since 2002. The house was specially built for her to easily move around in her wheel chair to her bedroom, toilet, shower, kitchen and outside without assistance. 

Her father Gari is devastated and cannot comprehend how she would cope with life away from the house that was designed for her. 

“I had approached the National Capital District Commission, PNG Disabled Association and Community Development Minister Delilah Gore’s office but they are unable to help me out. So I am seeking help from the public to build a similar house for her since her house which she has called her special home for 16 years will be demolished.” 

The two-bedroom house worth (then) K20,000 will soon be demolished for the new road that will link Konedobu with Tokarara as part of the NCDC’s road development project to solve the city’s traffic congestion problems. 

Gari Imiri from Manari village, on Sogeri plateau Central, said he was unable to contact the current management of Corrimal Rotary Club of New South Wales because the club president who had helped build the house had died. 

Lovelyn was first diagnosed with a spinal disability called scoliosis (abnormal lateral curvature of the spine) when she was eight years old. 

The Rotary Club wanted to take her to Australia for further operations to avoid her current state. However, due to delays in obtaining results of medical tests, the symptoms developed into her current complication. 

So the Rotarians decided to build this special house for her instead.

Imiri said they had moved there in 1995 with other settlers from the old Burns Peak settlement with the consent of the then Lands Secretary late Pepi Kimas and the Baruni landowners. 

“We were not told that this area would be developed into this road. We were told that we would be relocated to this area to make way for the Poreporena freeway,” Imiri said. “And now we will move again for the second time for this road project. This time we don’t know where to.”