Friends of Faseu

The PNG Forum held at the School of Public Health, University of Auckland on 2/10/14 was very successful. Two SoPH staff outlined current research programmes in PNG, and Jack Woodward described the Faseu Project. Donations towards the target of $25,000 have reached a total of $15,000, 60% of the objective, and fund raising is proceeding. Another development however has permitted us to confirm that a start will be made on restoration work in February, 2015. The Trust is completing an agreement with the South Pacific Commission whereby as part of their M3P Renewable Energy Project SPC will meet the operational costs of our PNG partner ATCDI. This largely cancels the shortfall in our budget, and means that we can embark on the repair work to restore supply to the communal buildings in the village at once. Orders are being placed for the equipment items with the longest delivery times. We cannot however ""rest on our oars"" with fund raising. The next phase, eagerly awaited by the village community, is to provide lighting to individual dwellings via portable rechargeable lanterns which can be recharged at a central charging station in the village. We need to carry on to our $25,000 target to meet this objective. By charging a small fee-per-charge (not greater than the cost of the replaced kerosene) the operation can be placed on a sustainable basis. 2014 has been a year of positive achievements thanks to the support of the Trust's donors and supporters.