Lae, Saturday 3 May 2025 – Thousands of people from all walks of life turned out today for the first Rosso Lae Community Cleanathon of 2025, transforming streets, markets, schools, and public spaces across the city in one of the largest civic clean-ups ever staged in Papua New Guinea. Volunteers came not only from within Lae, but also travelled from Labuta and Huon Gulf, highlighting the expanding reach and power of this citizen-led movement.
“Today was really, really amazing,” said coordinator Michael Earley, visibly moved by the scale of public support. “We had people walk from the mountains just to be part of this.”
From Bumayong to Top Town, students, church groups, businesses, and government agencies joined forces with citizens to restore pride to PNG’s second-largest city—without a single toea of government funding.
From a WhatsApp Group to a National Example
Earley, deputy chairman of the Lae District Peace and Good Order Committee, launched the cleanathon movement in 2023 after growing frustrated by the sight of PMV passengers tossing buai skins, peanut shells, and rubbish out of windows. He began organising clean-up efforts via a WhatsApp group. That small idea has now grown into a civic force of over 800 registered members, and now, with today’s turnout, a movement of thousands.
“What we’re doing is bigger than cleaning,” Earley says. “This is about changing the mindset of the city. When people clean, they take ownership.”
“No Money. Just Willpower.”
Remarkably, today’s citywide cleanathon was executed without government grants or allowances. Instead, support poured in from dozens of businesses and organisations who donated tools, goods and services essential for the operation. These included:
- Gannet Pharmaceutical Distributors – 20 cartons of disposal gloves
- ISI-Biz Halivim Centre – 15 cartons of water
- Paradise Foods Ltd – water and Gold Nuggets snacks
- JKT Lim & MDC – 50 cartons of water and 2,000 pairs of rubber gloves
- Huon Gold, Cullinan Development Ltd, JV PNG Investment Construction Ltd – large volumes of water, gloves, bin liners, trucks, and even fire and water units
- Fire Department – 1 fire truck
- IROK Security Services, Jack’s PNG, Remington Technology, Pacific Industries, Panamex, Butibam Pipeline Landowners’ Association, Water PNG, Telikom PNG-Lae, Trukai Industries, Plumbers and Builders Supplies, Butibam Progress Association, Optimum Trade, Security303 and Dekenai Construction Ltd – donated everything from bottled water and detergents to brooms, face masks, bins, and hand sanitiser
These contributions formed the backbone of the cleanathon’s success—proof that collective will and community support can replace funding.
“We don’t want money,” Earley says. “We want tools. If you have water bottles, gloves, rakes—donate that. That’s what keeps this going.”
Peace, Structure and Community Ownership
Earley’s experience in law and order underpins the structure of the campaign. As Deputy Chairman of the Lae Peace and Good Order Committee, he knew how to coordinate diverse stakeholders—village court officials, police, churches, schools, businesses—and now applies those same principles to community clean-ups.
“Our WhatsApp group is the new forum,” he explains. “Forget hotel conference rooms. This is how we make decisions.”
“Lae Can Be a Model City”
Today’s turnout included:
- Over 33 primary schools,
- 7 secondary schools,
- All tertiary institutions,
- Church groups,
- Business houses,
- People from Labuta and Huon Gulf,
- And civic-minded individuals from every corner of the city.
For Earley, this shows the power of example.
“If Lae can do this, other towns can follow,” he says. “Madang, Hagen, Goroka, Rabaul—why not? It’s just about citizens taking the lead.”
Ready for PNG’s 50th Independence 🇵🇬
The next cleanathon is planned for early September, just before Papua New Guinea’s 50th Independence Anniversary.
“We want Lae to be flying PNG flags and full of balloons—not buai spit and garbage,” Earley says. “Let’s show the world that Lae is not just a city of factories—it’s a city of pride and unity.”
Support Needed — In Kind, Not Cash
📞 Contact Michael Earley: 7122 2303 / 7622 2303
“If you know someone in a company that sells water, bin liners, gloves—tell them to reach out. That’s how we’ll keep this going.”
A New Kind of Leadership
What Michael Earley and the Rosso Lae Community Cleanathon have built is more than a campaign. It’s a national model of community ownership, non-political activism, and practical patriotism.
“Change doesn’t have to come from Parliament,” he says. “It can start on a street corner, with a broom, and a belief that we can do better.”