Promote culture, says student

By JACKLYN SIRIAS
People must promote culture to acknowledge their identity, a University of PNG student representative says.
Milne Bay Students Union president Abraham Matafolu told The National last Saturday during the Milne Bay Day celebrations that a lot of young people were forgetting their culture due to external factors.
“Because of that, we need to go back and revisit our roots and acknowledge our cultural identity in events like this,” Matafolu said.
He said by hosting the event, they also raised money that will fund awareness programmes on the importance of education during the holidays back in Milne Bay.
“Every year we encourage secondary school students back home to study hard and score good marks in order to qualify for tertiary education,” he said.
More than 1,000 people turned up to witness seven traditional groups perform with two string bands, the Wabo Knights band of Alotau and Beatbox sensation Noiziik.
The day was based on the theme Together we can for Milne Bay.
Matafolu said there would be another fundraiser to help the newly established James Chalmers Memorial High School in the province that did not have a library, computer lab, science lab and other important resources.
“We are asking our local MPs and business houses to help us with the fundraiser to help support the school,” he said.