Teacher takes out top honor at flower show

Caption: Rebecca Daniel (4th from left) receiving the shield from last year’s winner from Manus.

Caption: Rebecca’s overall winning stall with her assistant Julie Kamba tending the plants





By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, May 11, 2014 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)





THE Fourth 2014 Annual Flower Show concluded on a high note last week, when Port Moresby International School teacher and avid flower enthusiast Rebecca Daniel took out the Farmer of the Show award.

A clearly emotional Mrs Daniel was thankful; dedicating her win to God who she said was the creator and the one behind the true beauty of plants.

"I have always had a passion for flowers since I was a child and that has always been with me till today," Rebecca said.

"Even though I teach, I still have the time to care for my plants giving them at least two hours a day in the afternoons."

She thanked her husband and children for their support and also the executives of the Papua New Guinea Cut Flower Association and her fellow participants.

"I'd like to thank every one of you for your support in hosting yet another successful show."

Mrs Daniel is the proud owner of Becky's Flower and Pot Plant Hire and had the winning stall among 23 other from around the country.

Participants from the show were from as far as Manus, Jiwaka, Oro, Morobe, Eastern Highlands, East Sepik, Gulf, and Port Moresby members for the week-long event.

President of the PNG Cut Flower Association Mary Saun thanked all her members for their efforts, at the same time she revealed the theme for the 2015 show ‘Empowering Floriculture in PNG’.

She also thanked the Port Moresby Arts Theatre for providing a venue to the association to host successive shows over the years.

“The beauty of what we do here is that you do not need a degree to produce something as beautiful as a flower- and it is the spirit of cultivating that brings out the best in us,” an emotional Saun said.

She hoped that the government would see their association as a stepping stone to enhance and create opportunities for women in the country.

“We need a floriculture institute in the country to add more knowledge and share it among ourselves together.”

With the dawn of the 2015 South Pacific Games just around the corner, the President revealed plans to get the association profile in place to be a part of the games in terms of providing bouquets for athletes in the games.

She called on MPs to assist the association in achieve a countrywide reach so that women around the country could participate in what was once considered a past time activity to what is now a sleeping giant for income generation.