Fern Ridge (Safla Rama) Digest

This year I went to Airways Motel in time to meet Drusilla Modjeska before her departure to the fjords of Korafe in the Oro Province. Whether Drusilla comes up here from Sydney on her way to Tufi or on her way back to Sydney I usually catch up with her for breakfast at the Airways. On her way from Sydney she usually brings me books that I could not get hold of here. In turn I would bother her with my manuscripts. Drusilla is always patient with me, which I appreciate and acknowledged in my book The Unpainted Mask , presented to her in her recent trip to Papua New Guinea. This year I received her first novel The Mountain set in Papua New Guinea. She had worked on this book for a number of years. There were occassional mentions about the book in some of our conversations. I was honored to have received a signed copy of The Mountain (2012). The book is a wonderful book that is spellbinding, gripping, and yet entertaining to read. I was thrilled to read the book on the w...

A pledge honoured is an important value of leadership. Last year the Prime Minister Honorable Peter O’Neill promised the Waigani Primary School that he would give money for the construction of a Science classroom.   On the 20 th of July that promise was delivered. A cheque of K150,000.00 was delievered to the school.   The Chief of Staff for the Prime Minister’s Department, Mr. Gideon Oli and a delegation visited the school and presented the cheque to the joyful students and their teachers. The occasion was witnessed by the Department of Education Representative, Mr. Steven Lapan. As the Board Chairman I was on hand to receive the grant on behalf of the Board, the Principal, and the School. Mr. Gideon Oli presented the cheque to the School on-behalf of the Prime Minister. It was the commitment of Prime Minister O’Neill that took a while to process, but was eventually completed just before his reappointment as the 9 th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea...