LONE SURVIVOR RECEIVED K3000 DONATION FROM EHPG
Picture Caption: Ford Kusap, Lone Survivor of landslide in Goroka after losing 5 family members.
By Vicky BAUNKE in Goroka EHP
THIRTEEN-year-old lone survivor Ford Kusap received a donation from the Eastern Highlands Provincial Government following the recent landslide that tragically buried 5 of his family members to death in Goroka last week.
The office of the Eastern Highlands Governor Simon Sia visited the families of the victims on Friday and made the donation of K3000 in cash including food supplies where K1000 was given to the 13 -year old survivor Ford.
Eastern Highlands Governor Simon Sia said part of the donations included roofing iron, nail to rebuild the houses of affected families and food to keep them going including 5 coffin box to assist the family in as burial expenses.
An amount of K1000 was given to the lone survivor 13-year old Ford Kusap who is a grade 2 student attending the West Goroka Primary School who lost his mother and 4 of his siblings during the landslide.
The tragic incident took place in the early hours on Sunday morning last week between 3 to 4am just outside Goroka town after weeks of continuous rain that resulted in a landslide at Apoga in the Gahuku rural LLG of Goroka district.
This newsroom visited the scene when the bodies of 5 deceased family members were retrieved which were identified as Gelamah Kusap (Mother), Sonia Kusap (eldest sister), Stephanie Kusap, Sistapen Kusap and youngest sibling Inax Kusap all below the ages of 10.
The only survivor was 13 year old Ford Kusap who escaped the horrific tragedy and hurried off to seek help and alert the community members who started digging in an attempt to rescue the victims all in vain.
The bodies of the deceased were retrieved by locals at around 9am that morning after digging for several hours at Apoga last mountain village and retrieved the bodies about 6 meters away from the house.
The father Kusap was out on a Church gathering in Unggai Bena at the time of accident.
The bodies were brought to the Goroka Provincial Hospital morgue at around 11am that morning by members of the community.
