Fight against violence reaches US

 THE cry of battered Papua New Guinea women and those whose lives were lost to violence has resonated in Los Angeles, prompting action among the PNG community.

Members of PNGINUSA, a non-profit organisation organised the annual PNG Bung (gathering) in USA to support awareness and education regarding gender and domestic violence.

The gathering not only provided an opportunity for children to reconnect with the culture of their homeland but also to raise funds to help empower and protect women. 

Reverend Stephen Michael Leach, whose Sojourner Ministries ministers daily to the voiceless on the streets of PNG, shared the need for Papua New Guineans everywhere to demand justice and end violence against women.

“I saw the same hope, compassion and determination that I also witnessed within the Women Arise PNG ladies who stood up a few months ago and demanded justice and an end to violence in PNG,” Rev Leach said.

PNGINUSA president Akera Moi Akalanana said: “The message we want to send to our sisters, mothers, daughters, aunties and grandmothers is that we stand behind them. 

“Wherever we may be in the world and despite our distance, their pain is our pain, and we stand with them in solidarity and declare that we will not stand for violence against women under any circumstance.”