MP Mori pays tribute to pioneer missionary

By ZACHERY PER
CHUAVE MP Wera Mori paid a surprise visit to a pioneer Lutheran missionary in a remote village to thank her for the missionary work she and her late husband had carried for years.
Tinombe Tewatnambe, who is bed-ridden and believed to be more than 90 years old, was helped out of her kunai roof-thatched hut in the remote Karaweri village of East Elimbari to meet Mori and have their picture taken.
She was carried out by her son Mevrika Senyang.
“I came to pay tribute and respect to her for what she and her late husband did as missionaries and teachers for the people of this remote part of East/West Elimbari,” Mori said.
He said Tinombe and her late husband Senyang Salyang had to leave the comfort of their home in Finschhafen in Morobe in 1952 to come and serve as missionaries and teachers at the Monono Primary School.
“My mother was one of their students at Monono Primary School,” Mori said.
“I had to fund a new double classroom at Monono Primary School as a tribute to them and my mother who attended the school.”
He said such people had made the sacrifice to improve the lives of others.
“They are hard to replace. I came to show them my appreciation and thank them for the services they had provided to this remote part of the district,” Mori said.
Son Mervika said his parents had served as missionaries and teachers for many years before retiring to live at Karaweri village.
“They had six children. I am the second-born. Our father passed away in 2000. Now we are looking after our mother,” he said.