A beautiful Kimbe Bay in Papua New Guinea pulses with life: its coral reefs hold more than half of all species on Earth, a rainbow jungle that more than 900 reef fish species call home. Kimbe Bay is located in the Bismarck Sea, a key area in the global center of marine biodiversity. The Coral Triangle and Kimbe Bay lie almost centrally within this.
The idea to develop the resort came after Max and Cecilie Benjamin travelled overseas for a diving holiday in 1978 where they immediately recognized the outstanding marine biodiversity of Kimbe Bay in their own backyard. Walindi Plantation Resort commenced on the shores of Kimbe Bay in 1983 and we are a fully family owned resort now reaching three generations.
MV FeBrina and MV Oceania are both dive liveaboards based at Walindi, they offer a variety of itineraries throughout the year, each tailored to suit the best conditions in the region.
The Benjamin family had not only pioneered scuba diving in Kimbe Bay, but has been actively supporting the local community through several programs.
The Max Benjamin Elementary School (MBES) was conceptualised in 2010. The school grew rapidly to have over 100 students attending in the space of three short years. MBES is one of the few Elementary schools in the Province which has teacher’s housing onsite.
June 2015 saw the start of construction of the new Walindi Primary School. It has been donated by Walindi’s owners Max and Cecilie Benjamin and was constructed by Walindi at cost. 225 students were enrolled at closing day, 3rd December 2019.
Walindi Resort actively supports the local community, so that they can benefit from tourism in the area. This is done in a number of ways, such as, employment, education, sanitation, supporting local charities, purchasing from local suppliers, working with communities and offering new opportunities for local small entrepreneurs.
With the global health crisis that is COVID-19, tourism has come to a complete standstill around the world with catastrophic impacts on employment. The situation is no different here in Papua New Guinea.
However, in PNG there are no social safety nets and no business support packages – they are on their own. With 100% of the revenue now gone for the foreseeable future – they are in a very difficult situation of not being able to afford to keep our local staff of 90 working – this is devastating for the staff and their families – one salary in PNG often filters down directly to an average of 7 people – there are no alternatives for them, there is no backup.
Walindi Resort and Liveaboards are the one of the only employment opportunities in the area. Walindi is a community village and majority of the staff and their families live on site – they are also a family.
To help the whole community to get through the coming months Divebooker helps to seek donations to help them with the bare necessities like food and medicine during this extremely difficult time – a safety net.
100% of donations will be shared out equally and given directly to the local staff in instalments to help support them.
DONATE
From Walindi Resort, MV FeBrina and MV Oceania, Mahonia Na Dari Education Centre and the family of staff who live onsite and in the surrounding villages we thank you for any support you may be able to offer in this difficult time for everyone – no matter how small the donation, every bit helps!