| Sports |
Self help starts
at home
BY ZACHERY PER
Initiating self help projects is a common message regularly
disseminated from grandstands at countless occasions.
Actually putting into practice such advice can be a major
challenge for people or groups.
With free hand out and cargo cult mentality still a strong hold in
PNG society especially in the highlands region, it requires a
great deal of effort to motivate and lobby people to initiate and
participate in self help activities.
But for over 20, 0000 people of Yongumugl area in the Kamtai
district Simbu Province helping themselves became very necessary
last month.
After years of being deprived of efficient deliveries of goods and
services due to deterioration of a first four kilometers of the
Wara Simbu - Niglguma road via Mai that links the population to
the highlands highway, the people decided to construct a new road.
A water-logged section of that particular stretch near Wara Simbu
was left to the mercy of nature to deteriorate after years of
neglect that disadvantaged the people from direct market access
and efficient services deliveries.
The people were unable to bring their coffee and garden produce to
market in Kundiawa town.
Basic supplies for basic health, education and other Government
services have been reduced resulting in losses of innocent lives,
children not getting enough education and farmers not benefiting
from agricultural extension services.
After years of waiting in vain for the Government to intervene,
the people armed themselves with digging tools to manually
construct a four kilometer road early last month.
The initiative to build the road was mulled by the President of
PNG Law Society and senior managing partner with Posman Kua Aisi
Lawyers Kerenga Kua who hails from one of the Yongumugl tribes.
The people agreed to manually construct the road after he had to
hire a chopper to fly the body of his late father from Kundiawa
town to his Mekirma village near Mai Catholic Mission station due
to the bad road condition.
Members of the nine clans from 12 council wards set February 14 as
the date to start constructing the road.
The people remained loyal to the agreement and marched to Mogl
village fully armed with spades, peaks, crowbars, bush knives and
axes some dressed in Simbu warrior regalia shouting war cries on
February 13 and spend the night there.
Early the next morning (February 14) the people mostly men divided
the entire stretch of land marked for the new road, each
individual was allocated between two to five meters each and
completed the construction in only two days.
Chairman of the working committee Mr Michael Koima said they do
not want to pressurize the Government as it has a lot of issues
and problems to worry about.
"After more than 30 years of Independence, we would like to show
the rest of the country that we could not no longer burden the
Government and go into this self-help initiative as we are the
rightful beneficiaries of the road, when it deteriorated we are
the immediate one disadvantaged," Mr Koima said.
He said the initiative a self reliance project importantly aimed
at changing the attitude of the people, teaching them to help
themselves instead of waiting for the Government.
Mai community spokesman John Ginbogl applauded the initiative
saying that it is a show of union and solidarity for the Yongumugl
people.
The people agreed not to claim any form of compensation for any
future roads, bridges and public infrastructures to be built in
their area.
Messrs Koima and Ginbogl thanked Mr Kua who was the major sponsor
with K10, 000, FinCorp K5, 000, a shop in Kundiawa for K3, 000 and
another individual with K1, 000 donations towards the project.
They also thanked the Damaku and Gena clans for allowing their
land free and destruction of garden crops for the new road.
The Wara Simbu-Mai road connects the people to the other side of
the Dinima-Porol rocky mountain range to as far Mai and Niglguma
where bulk of the people of the Yongumugl tribe is found.
Several Elementary schools, Bi-Mai High School, Terebona Technical
School, Parua, Terebona, Mai, Guruma and Mogl Primary Schools are
educational institutions that have been deprived of basic school
supplies over the years. These schools would now be able to get
their regular supplies through the new road.
The Niglguma and Mai Health Centres and several Aid Posts and
several church denominations that have also been deprived would
now be able enjoy easy access for their supplies and movements.
Likewise coffee and vegetable growers in the area would now easily
access the competitive market in Kundiawa to sell their produce.
The disadvantaged clans of the tribe that have been reconnected by
the new road are;
Sumbuku, Wauku, Komun, Damaku, Mitnand, Guglbuku, Graiku, Kindiku,
Waruo, Gena and Nukuyomane.
 
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