Staff from all the MVIL's Port Moresby branches at the Head Office at Kunai Street, Hohola.

Despite the burning heat from the early morning sun of Friday 13 September 2024, staff from all the Motor Vehicles Insurance Limited’s (MVIL) Port Moresby branches gathered at the Head Office to celebrate the country’s 49^thIndependence anniversary.

The program began with Pastor Julianne Kivori sharing from the Bible in 1 Peter 2:9 about the identity and mission of Christians as God’s chosen people and how PNG fell in the concept of a “chosen nation”.

By this, Ps Kivori explained that PNG was a nation which was not subjected to political boundaries but a chosen people, a nation of God crossing geographical boundaries. It was the people that made up the nation, who are followers of Jesus.

The key message shared by the MVIL Chief Executive Officer Mr Michael Makap was based on the formula “life” plus “love” equals “happiness”.

“You need two things in life to be happy. That is the life you were given, and learning to love the life that you have in order to be happy,” Mr Makap said.

He encouraged staff by saying: “Love your life and be happy. You create your own happiness, you can start at home with your families.”

Furthermore, Mr Makap said the country’s tough financial and economic situation being faced was because of missed opportunities, “simply because individuals did not get that simple equation right”.

He added that fellow Papua New Guineans were not given the equal opportunity to live their lives happily. Thus, the CEO encouraged staff to generate other means of income such as engaging in local SMEs to sustain themselves. 

The celebration involved a flag-raising ceremony with staff singing the National Anthem and reading the National Pledge, followed by lunch and cutting of the Independence Day cake.