The Kingsley Eroro Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel Scholarship, In memory of Kingsley Eroro of Kokoda 15/04/1955 to 11/08/2009 Options

[Boss Meri]

We are proud to announce that we have set up 'The Kingsley Eroro Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel Scholarship' in memory of Russell Eroro's brother who died in the 11th August, 2009 plane crash near Kokoda. We are honoured that The Kokoda Track Foundation have agreed to this and that they have offered to act in the capacity to select students from Kokoda Primary School; collection of funds for this purpose; and have in place an audit process to ensure students attend school so that you as sponsors can be assured your money has been well spent.

Earlier this year, we witnessed the tragic Airlines PNG plane disaster that resulted in the deaths of 13 people who were on route to Kokoda. Amongst those on board were 9 Australians and 3 Papua New Guineans, including Kingsley Eroro from Kokoda. Kingsley was a well loved and respected Orokaiva man from Kokoda who enjoyed helping the local community whenever he could.

Kingsley was also well known to many Australian Rotarians who have visited Kokoda doing work for the Kokoda Hospital and other projects in and around Kokoda. His wife Grace Eroro runs the local Post Office and is also the agent for Airline PNG in Kokoda. Most trekkers would have met Grace or one of their family on their journey to or from Kokoda. Many of you have walked with some of his brothers; sons; nephews; and wantoks.

Kingsley Eroro worked as the Mill Foreman of the processing – crusher/sag operations at the Porgera Joint Venture/Barrick (Niugini) Mine Site in the Porgera Valley near Mt Hagen, approximately 600 km north of Port Moresby. He was returning home to Kokoda on his tour break to spend time with his family when he died in the accident.

On certain occasions when asked by friends Kingsley acted as a guide on a number of crossings of the Kokoda Track (refer photograph below). Kingsley is an older brother of Russell Eroro whose company Kokoda Trekking Ltd (KTL) has taken many of you across the Kokoda Trail.

Kingsley Eroro strongly believed in the importance of family, education, and a better future for the people of Kokoda and was dedicated to finding pathways for young Orokaiva people. He was particularly passionate about finding opportunities for young Kokoda students to get an education and return to their home village to work and make a living.

In memory of Kingsley’s life, and in paying respects to the ‘Eroro’ family, the Kokoda Track Foundation is honoured to announce the ‘Kingsley Eroro Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel Scholarship’. This scholarship will be awarded to Orokaivan students from the Kokoda district region who are embarking on secondary studies in 2010.

The scholarship will be awarded to students from Grade 9, who has demonstrated exceptional ability and promise for the future and who are committed to returning to Kokoda after their education to make a living and contribute to their community.

The Foundation will announce recipients of the Kingsley Eroro Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel scholarship in February 2010 when it conducts its annual audit of the 23 schools supported by the Foundation.

Friends and colleagues of the Eroro family can make donations to the Kingsley Eroro Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel scholarship through the Foundation and all donations will be directed towards the education of Orokaiva children from the Kokoda region.

Please contact Genevieve Nelson if you are interested in making a donation or would like any more information about the scholarship or the work of the Foundation in PNG.

Alternatively, please click here to make an online donation and write "Kingsley Eroro" in the "Purpose" box.

Dr Genevieve Nelson
Executive Director
Kokoda Track Foundation Ltd
gen.nelson@kokodatrackfoundation.org
www.kokodatrackfoundation.org
Phone: 61 2 9252 2992
Mobile: 61 412 869210
Office: Level 10, 19-31 Pitt Street Sydney NSW 2000
Mail to: PO Box 1674 North Sydney NSW 2059

Please Note: All donations to the Foundation in Australia are tax deductible

Photograph:

Left to Right

Cousin Donald Gava (Engineer with the Army in PNG); brother John Derick Eroro (one of our senior guides with hundreds of treks to his credit); the late Kingsley Eroro; Emmanuel Eroro, his eldest son who is one of our porters. Emmanuel also helps with the APNG flights in and out of Kokoda.

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[Boss Meri]

The Eroro family have welcomed to their family block hundreds of our trekkers. So many of the immediate and extended family work for Kokoda Trekking.

When Kingsley passed away Kokoda Trekking received emails from all over Australia. Many Rotarians also wrote as he was well known to them during their stay in Kokoda and their work at the Kokoda Hospital.

Workmates from Porgera joined in their sorrow.

One of my memories of Kingsley was seeing him pushing a wheelbarrow from their home to the Kokoda Station. Inside the wheelbarrow was a lawnmower so he could clean up around the Post Office area. So even on his rest breaks he was still finding a way to help out the Kokoda community in one way or another.

We at Kokoda Trekking feel that with your help hopefully money can be raised to help fund students to attend high school once they finish their grade 9 studies at Kokoda Primary School.

Help us to make this a realty and allow his memory to live on.

Photograph:

His mother Peggy Eroro seen here with one of our trekkers. Also with her grandchildren in preparation of meals for our trekkers. Peggy raised 10 of her own children and adopted several other family members making a total of 14. The majority work for Kokoda Trekking Ltd. We employ son in-laws and now the grandchildren of Peggy and Emmanuel. The Eroro family are naturally feeling the pain of loosing Kingsley. He was the head of the family being the eldest son and leaves behind many grieving relatives and friends mourning his loss.

Their thoughts and prayers go out to all other families involved in this tragic accident.

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The Kokoda Track Foundation Mission Statement:

The Kokoda Track Foundation is an Australian philanthropic organisation which aims to repay the selfless help given to Australia during WWII by the ‘Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels’ of Papua New Guinea by helping to improve the lives and futures of their descendants.

It does that by assisting with their education and healthcare, by trying to protect their environment, by helping to foster the growth of an eco-friendly trekking and tourism industry from which they can benefit, by working to keep the story of Kokoda alive, and by seeking to identify and foster the next generation of PNG leaders.

The Foundation’s current projects include providing 124 school scholarships to students from villages along the Kokoda Track, funding educational supplies to 23 schools in the region, supporting the Kokoda Memorial Hospital with medicines and supplies, and constructing seed multiplication nurseries to help rebuild village food gardens destroyed by devastating Cyclone Guba.

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