(ANS – Suva) – Rector Major, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, his Secretary, Fr. Horacio López, and Fr. Václav Klement, Councillor for East Asia-Oceania Region, reached Suva at 9.00 PM just now today (Suva Time).  They were warmly received by the confreres. Many programmes are aligned for tomorrow since one day is practically lost due to travel related problems. The Rector Major has sent a message to those affected by earthquake in Kokopo, Papua New Guinea.

The earthquake that struck Kokopo, East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea on 5 May, 2015 is a major concern as Salesians have a flourishing mission at Vunabosco in the quake hit area.

Fr. Edwin Genovia, SDB, the Rector of the Don Bosco school at Vunabosco states: “No one was injured among the students and staff. However, the school suffered immediate structural damages: broken plumbing system, misalignment of the building structure, the dormitories and workshops, breakages in the computer laboratory and school chapel. At this point, the Salesians are still assessing the extent of the damage and the safety of the structures.”

Fr. Á.F. Artime, Rector Major, is on a visit to South Pacific. He was in Papua New Guinea just two days back and is greatly concerned about the situation. In his message to the Salesians and the people of Vunabosco he said: “Although we do not know the details of the damage caused by the earthquake we are very close to all in PNG, the local population, particularly the Salesians, the youth whom we met in our recent visit. We thank God that our Salesians and the youth are safe and we pray for them and assist them with necessary help. I would like to express my closeness to everyone especially with our confrere Bishop  Francesco Panfilo, SDB the archbishop of Rabaul whose diocese is situated at the epicentre of the quake. We shall walk together at this moment with brotherly concern and assistance.”

Vunabosco is a secondary agro-tech school catering to non-selected students of the New Guinea Islands region. There are at least 150 boarders with a total of more than 500 students. It is a permitted (private) school run by the Salesians since 1990.

This unfortunate event causes a major impact on the operation of the school. The Salesian Delegation of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands stand in solidarity with Vunabosco and extends assistance where needed.

Published 06/05/2015