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e-NEWS Caring For Kiriwina – a busy six months     Dear , The last six months have been extremely challenging for the Kiriwinan community, which is trying to recover from an incident of unprecedented violence on the Island. With a continued police presence, law and order are being maintained, and Caring for Kiriwina (CFK) have planned two trips back to the Island this year. One reporting and planning trip in April and one Village Birth Attendant Training trip partnering with a Praxeis medical team in August. Please help us keep up this vital work and improve this result with your tax-deductible donation. To help us maintain our valuable assistance, please consider a regular subscription. This enables our work to continue knowing we have consistent support. 
OUR NEXT VBA TRAINING TRIP IS SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 2023.On this trip, our fantastic CFK team will be supported by the Doctors and Midwife specialist trainers from Praxeis. As part of this August training trip, we hope to publish a birthing booklet translated into Kiriwinan and complied by one of our wonderful midwives, Shea Caplice and published by Lawton Design pty ltd to distribute to the VBAs.We are so excited to be finally able to visit our beloved Kiriwinan’s again and continue this excellent work. Yippee. And thank you again, donors and Praxeis. 
Kavataria VBA’s delivered baby and mother 
Mulosaida VBA’s delivered baby and mother. 
Mulosaida VBA’s delivered baby and mother. 
Due to an unprecedented incident of tribal conflict in October 2022, some Kiriwinan villages had their crops destroyed. Others could not harvest their crops as they had their labour resources removed from the island while the authorities investigated the fighting. At that time of the year, all yam seeds in other villages have been planted, and new seeds will only be available to use after the harvest next year. As part of our food security project, CFK and our wonderful In-country manager Toks Bwaina have assisted by supplying some food staples to the affected villages—a big thank you to our sponsors and donors. 
Photo of the basic food staples such as rice, sugar, tinned food, noodles, teabags, flour, and cooking oil that CFK have managed to distribute to Kavataria, Mulosaida and Oyabia/Rabesi communities. Further distributions of rice and sugar have been delivered to Losuia, Kwemtula and Osesuya communities. 
Due to a shortage of essential drugs and other medical items, the only health Centre on an Island of over 55,000 people, Losuia Health Centre, has remained closed to all but the most life-threatening cases. It is currently closed for outpatients. This issue needs to be addressed by the Health Authorities and the local MP urgently. CFK has sent two deliveries of life-saving medical equipment, such as baby weighing scales, blood sugar and blood pressure measuring equipment, bandages and PPE. Much more needed :).
Photo of Janson Toposona receiving the box containing medical items such as bandages and PPE. 
Some of the fortunate school children who were assisted in school fee by CFK in 2022. Kiriwina Secondary School Fee Assistance Appeal This is the only secondary school on the island where 5,000-10,000 Grade 8 students compete to secure a place to continue their secondary education from Grades 9 to 12. About 95% of secondary school children come from subsistence families with a meagre income. The school fee is high due to inflation and living costs in Papua New Guinea, and many parents need help finding income sources to pay for their children’s school fees. Many students miss out on education due to a lack of funds. Parents also need help buying uniforms and basic school stationery such as pens, pencils, exercise books, etc. Donating to the school fee assistance project can enable a child to attend high school knowing that the fees can be paid. Your donation can be anonymous, or we can connect you with the student you support. A donation of $150 will cover the school fees for one high school student for the year. 
The photos showing water pump in one of the communities maintained by CFK. WATER PUMPS AND WATER TANKS NEEDED Clean Drinking Water is a problem for the people of Kiriwina. CFK continues to maintain the pumps it has installed; however, we receive hundreds of requests from other communities for a water pump or tank to provide clean drinking water. There is a high demand and a great need for clean drinking water, and CFK can install water pumps and tanks in villages, schools, and
communities to provide clean drinking water. We have everything in place to acquire and maintain this equipment, including an ongoing relationship with local CFK plumber Mr Koega who keeps our pumps in working order; all we need is the funds. 
We are extremely honoured to be invited by the Bishop to an event celebrating Ralph and Margaret Lawton’s work with the Kiriwinan people scheduled for the last two weeks of April 2023. And after three long years, we will also take this opportunity to meet up with our wonderful CFK in-country and Island volunteers, our fabulous VBAs, school teachers and principals, and the Losuia Health Centre to check on the progress of all our projects on the Island and to deliver much-needed support. Please be sure to look out for further updates. Thank you to all our donors and sponsors for allowing this life-saving work to continue. 
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