Teach kids moral and ethical values, says navy skipper

By PISAI GUMAR
HOW one teaches children to treat other people with dignity is crucial, Pacific Partnership 2011 mission commander Capt Jesse Wilson said.
“When teaching children to grow up while practising right moral and ethical values, it helps them to learn and understand the core principles of life as well as learning what to do for the society in terms of providing service,” he told a packed auditorium of students at the University of Technology in Lae, Morobe, yesterday.
Wilson was accompanied by Australian Defence Force liaison officer Commander Ashley Papp, non-governmental organisation representative Tom Whites and naval officers.
Before addressing the students, the servicemen and women met with acting vice-chancellor Prof Muhammad Satter to discuss programmes and courses offered at Unitech, the institution’s relations with overseas universities, the government, companies and the community.
“The sustainability of health and education facilities provided through the PPII programme by the US Navy Construction and Building (Seabees) engineers and Australian soldiers, including PNGDF engineer battalion at Wampar, Angau Memorial Hospital, Malahang and Tent Siti relies on some of you now sitting in this auditorium,” he said.
“As we deal more with disaster relief assistance mission, we have the capacity to assist not only with aid but skills, knowledge and expertise to work side by side and learn from each other.
“We have the capacity and if we do not do it, who is going to do it? So we have to do it.
“Some of you sitting here, in future, might develop a tsunami warning system, design buildings that can withstand earthquakes or a road engineer who studies the soil system in Lae and designs a road that withstands potholes,” he said.
Wilson said an institution like Unitech, “two stumbling blocks are alcohol and drug abuse which each student needs to be mindful of”.
He presented a PPII souvenir to the institution which was accepted by the head of department for open and distance learning, Wilson Tovirika.