Men of Honour winners discuss ways to reduce violence

MEN of Honour winners over the past four years attended a forum at the Digicel Learning Centre in Port Moresby to discuss ways to alleviate violence in PNG.
They had their own stories to tell the forum.
The awarded have being running since 2014 and and 66 ambassadors from different categories do their work independently in their communities.
“We know that there are good men in PNG who are doing the right thing, being protectors and playing the roles as providers and advocating themselves about violence against women and children and against each other,” chief operation officer Anaseini Vesikula said.
“So the Men of Honour is actually looking for good stories about good man who are combating violence in their own communities through health, education, business, sports and through a whole lot of activities they do – they are unsung heroes in PNG.”
The awards reward men who do things in communities without expecting payments and quietly give their time for the benefit of others.
The overall winner of the award, Ejumpi Suove, from Goroka, shared his story and said he had been working to fight all violence in his community and people noticed it so they nominated him for the award. Digicel took him to Moresby.
“They took me from Goroka to Port Moresby. I’m not the only one here but MOH across the nation came,” he said. “We are doing our jobs silently but Digicel recognised us and brought us to lift our spirits to do more in our communities and I’m very happy for that.”
David Aoneka Lawrence, who took a young Men of Honour award, said he was nominated though youth development work, standing against violence against women.
“Every year in PNG one in three women experience either sexual or domestic violence,” he said.