The National Repentance Day public holiday was established by former PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill after taking office in 2011.
The day was established after churches requested O’Neill’s predecessor, Sam Abal, to establish the day before he was voted out of office by a no confidence vote. The first National Day of Repentance was held within a few days of the announcement.
Little information was provided by the government as to the purpose of the day, causing some confusion at the time. Pastor Jack Edward of the Shema Evangelism Ministry was made Repentance Day Coordinator and announced that the day was to be a time for people to come together to pray and ask for God’s forgiveness for wrongs occurring in the country.
PNGBUZZ approached youths within the nation’s capital to give their thoughts about repentance day. Here’s what Josiah Kana, Anderson Andrew, Emmanuel Bosike and Rebecca Swan had to say when asked:
“What does National Repentance Day mean to you”?
