Lae business donates to earthquake victims

A BUSINESS in Lae has shown kindness and donated roofing iron and cooking pots to the people of Southern Highlands affected by the earthquake.
Barlow Industries management and staff donated the materials to 26-2 Earthquake Lae City Appeal Group last week.
The materials included roofing iron, ridge cap, chain mesh wire, nails, wheelbarrows and cartons of cooking pots.
Appeal chairman Sarah Haoda-Todd said what Barlow Industries had given would help a lot of families.
“Some of the things that EMTV was stressing included roofing irons, nails, wheelbarrows which we took note of,” she said.
“We did not know how and where they would come from but we have faith in God, we have faith that God would touch somebody in the city, give us little bit of this most valuable item. This will last them a life time.”
Haoda-Todd said told The National that the appeal committee was liaising with the commander of the PNG Defence Force to move the items collected to Mendi.
“It has been verbally approved to move the stuff onto the Royal Australian Air Force C-130J Hercules plane. We have over 400 cartons of all kinds of goods which we have to re-pack and re-label as we want to see who really needs them,” she said.
“We are hearing Gulf and Western are mostly affected and have been forgotten as we have been concentrating on Hela, Southern Highlands and Enga.
“We have collected around 300,000 to 400,000, thousand maybe a half a million worth of clothes, goods and we had to add yours (Barlow) as well.”
Haoda-Todd said it would not have been possible without the backing of business houses and thanked the corporate houses and individuals who contributed towards the appeal.
Barlow Industries general manager Rajesh Ramesh said they had put their hands together to give their best support of what they could to the earthquake affected people.