Highlands disaster appeal in Lae raises K26,000

THE Highlands earthquake relief appeal in Lae was officially wound down on Saturday, with the organisers raising K26,000 and received more than K100,000 worth of clothes and food.
Relief appeal chairman Sarah Haoda-Todd said the response they had been getting from the public and business houses in the city was “overwhelming”.
Hela landowners’ trucking company Trans Wonderland Ltd (TWL) was the last company to donate, it presented a K10,000 cheque to the appeal on the final day.
The cheque was delivered to Haoda-Todd by TWL’s financial controller Belinda Kembol.
“This donation brings our total monetary donations to about K26,000,” Todd said.
“Pagini Clothing has also given us 40 bales of secondhand clothing worth about K100,000.
“HomeState Ltd donated 20 tons of rice worth about K60,000.
“We have also received food items, bottles of water and clothes from business houses and individuals who have shown overwhelming support.”
Haoda-Todd said the appeal started on March 3, soon after the 7.5 magnitude earthquake had rocked parts of the Highlands and Southern regions causing widespread destruction and deaths.
The appeal was planned for a week but response from the public in Lae was so overwhelming that it had to extend it to 14 days to cater for all the donations and assistance that were pouring in.
The appeal was supported by students, individuals, families, institutions and business houses who went out of their way to help.
Todd said two notable monetary donations were made by R & Sons Construction and TWL.
Both gave K10,000 each.
TWL financial controller Belinda Kembol said as a 100 per cent landowner-owned company, TWL was humbled to support people in Hela, Southern Highlands and other nearby provinces who were affected by the earthquake.
She said many lives and properties were lost during the disaster and the company hoped its little donation would help some of the victims get their lives back on track.