The Eastern Papua Association, the head of the popular Eastern Papua Carnival competition, has partnered with the Cancer Foundation of Papua New Guinea. President Joyce Grant, says she’s proud of the direction EPC is taking in both uniting the Milne Bay community in Port Moresby as well as using sport as a platform for awareness on cancer.
Sport and health are two activities that go hand in hand and have been pushed for my multiple sport, and corporate organizations in PNG for many years. That concept no different, as the Eastern Papua Carnival, a football tournament exclusively for the Milne bay community in the city of port Moresby, opened over the weekend.
With 32 men’s and 11 women’s teams taking part this year, it has grown from strength to strength, with select players also forming part of this year’s BESTA cup challenge. Celebrating 41 years in 2019, the Eastern Papua Carnival was initiated in 1978 with the premise of gathering together the-then small community of Milne Bay people in the city.
Joyce Grant, the president of the Eastern Papua Association which oversees the tournament has been excited at the turn out and organization for the 2019 competition.
Uniting the small but growing population of Milne Bay football players has always been the mainstay of the competition, but Grant says, partnering with the Cancer Foundation of PNG gives them an added focus.
With October being the month of cancer awareness, this has presented for both organizations a fantastic opportunity to advocate.
And that is something attested to by executive manager of the cancer foundation of PNG, Priscilla Napoleon
The eastern Papua Carnival will run for the next three weeks, with the finals scheduled for the end of the month.
By Jeremy Mogi – EMTV News, Port Moresby
