Governor General, Sir Michael Ogio, has encouraged everyone to be thankful and content this Christmas.
In another message, Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, said Christmas is an important time to put aside our differences, and share in the goodwill of our communities.
In his Christmas Message, Prime Minister O’Neill acknowledged the work of churches across the country.
He said ours is a Christian country and the Christian churches remain strong and continue to play a vital role in the lives of people.
For many, the Churches have provided education, delivered healthcare, and facilitated wide ranging community support services.
The Prime Minister said when the current government was formed; it knew that churches were delivering this work on their own and that a real partnership between church and Government was needed to really help the people.
From this, an important partnership was built with churches in the delivery of basic services, and the Government is proud of providing direct funding support to churches for education, healthcare, and other areas.
“ This funding support has enabled the expansion of services to meet greater community needs. We will continue to build this partnership in the future. I extend Christmas greetings to all Christian leaders, workers, and communities right across Papua New Guinea. We have worked together, one nation under God, to build a stronger Papua New Guinea,” Mr. O’Neill said.
In the meantime, from Government House, Governor General Ogio, said as a nation, PNG did encounter some turbulant time during the year, but has managed to pick itself up, and move on.
“As we encounter a new year, we grow older and hopefully wiser from our experiences. This is of particular significance because the world we live in is not as predictable as we once thought. The increasing lawlessness around us is unfortunate, and a sad reminder of the world we live in. It is sad to see that people no longer respect esteem values such as respect, honesty, hard work, humility, kindness and love for others. I recall that years ago, these were values every parent strived to instil in their children. Disobedience and bad behaviour were shunned upon and discipline was administered forthwith. Parents, take seriously the responsibility you have been blessed with and provide your children the love and discipline they need to grow into adults that you can be proud of,” said Sir Michael Ogio.
He encouraged individuals to assess themselves, and be willing to make the necessary changes for the better. He said a simple act of kindness could be a blessing to those in need, and just as equally, being honest in simple things can reap greater rewards and reinforce good habits and attitudes.
Sir Michael reminded all that whatever the situation or circumstance, may each person find contentment with what we have and be thankful to God.
