Hospital gets K65,000

By TONY PALME
MT Hagen General Hospital was blessed with a perfect Christmas gift of K65,000 from the PNG Highlands Fuqing Association on Friday.
The association was formed just two weeks ago on Dec 10.
Korean-owned company Dae Won Trading contributed K30,000 towards the association and together they raised the K65,000 under the association’s name.
Association president Lin Feng said this was the first donation that the association has made to the Mt Hagen community.
Lin said many people thought Chinese and other Asians were here just for money, which was not the case because they cared about the people of Papua New Guinea and the communities they lived in.
“We are not just here to do business and run away,” Lin, who has   lived more than 20 years in Mt Hagen, said.
“We are part of the community and feel we have an obligation to help our community.
“That’s why this association was formed – to give something back to the people.”
He said the association comprised of 12 members who are all from Fuqing in China.
“They are all businessmen. Since we came from the same place and stayed here together, we formed this group,” he said.
“We are proud of this Christmas donation that we’ve made to the hospital because we saw their need.
“This is just a gift and it is part of our community service which we give for free. We want to continue to help the schools and churches as we move forward.”
Mt Hagen General Hospital chief executive officer Dr Paulus Ripa thanked the association and Dae Won for their donation.
“The hospital is going through a financial crisis,” he said.
“It needs more money to run and function effectively.
This donation will help us a lot. We look forward to continue this friendly relationship.”