A star up in the mountains

Weekender

RAYMOND Singamis, 29, stands tall and proud among his Baktaman people in Western.
Compared to those that stand around him, he is a whole foot taller, and is physically bigger.
The tallest villager would stand up to Raymond’s shoulder.
He is a perfect picture of health and wellbeing among a people who are dying from treatable diseases because they have not seen nor received proper basic health services in their community since the early 1970s.
For the people of Baktaman village, located in the Star Mountains of Western, the nearest health service is a two-week walk, through dense jungle, to reach Tabubil Town, where Ok Tedi Mining is based. In the pursuit of health services, many have died while making the physically challenging and mentally exhausting life or death trip to Tabubil.
Villagers who make it to Tabubil find themselves in the hodgepodge of settlements that form the outskirts of town, where visitors from remote places like Baktaman end up living temporarily in search of health services and other basic amenities.
Raymond grew up in one of these settlements surrounding the mining town.
His father, Timothy Singamis, made the bold decision as a young man to leave the village and travel to Tabubil in search of employment as a mine worker.
Once he had secured a job, he married and had children. Raymond and a brother after him, enjoyed the luxuries of life in town. Sadly, Raymond’s mother passed away while he and his brother were still very young and they were, from then on, raised by their father.
Timothy recalls that as a child, Raymond was a well-behaved boy. “He was obedient, he studied hard, listened to his elders and was committed to church and fellowship and never really gave me any problem.
“I remember once when he was in Grade Three he brought home a book about doctors and nurses and told me that that was what he wanted to become when he grew older.”
“I don’t know if Raymond remembers this, but I remembered it and every day that I have worked since then has been to help my son achieve his dream.”
Through perseverance and the strong support of his father, Raymond graduated from the Pacific Adventist University with a Bachelor of Nursing in 2014, after which, he returned home where he and his dad went to the village to celebrate his achievement with the rest of his family. Raymond trekked for two weeks through the jungle to reach home. It was during this holiday that Raymond contracted a very severe case of dysentery from drinking untreated water. Because he was a trained nurse and travelled with his own first aid kit, he was able to treat himself. This experience woke Raymond to the harsh realities of what his people faced on a daily basis. Choosing to remain with his people, Raymond helped them form the Baktaman Area Association which aimed to bring development projects to his community.
As the first person from there to gain university-level education, Raymond has begun to bring changes, through the association, to his local community and the villages surrounding it.
Having a strong vision and good Christian values, young Raymond selflessly declined jobs offers in Port Moresby and Ok Tedi Mining, opting instead to bring self-reliance to his village.
He has taught his people not to be reliant on the government but to take the lead themselves to make a change in their lives through innovation and creativity.
Mobilising his people, an aid post is in the process of being built through the raising of K60,000 by the people themselves. Materials for the building have been purchased but further costs of having to bring these back to the village has proven to be a major setback.
This has not dashed Raymond’s hopes as he continues to find ways to complete the building.  Once complete, this health centre will serve 8000 people in Baktaman and the surrounding villages.
Currently, basic health service at Baktaman is being provided from a makeshift shelter made from materials from the forest. Local youths are also being taught at the centre to become village health attendees.
Raymond sources his medicine from the district health division and other donor agencies which he gathers and leaves with the Ok Tedi Mining Company medical section. They drop the drugs off at Baktaman during their environmental survey and assessment trips.
Things turned out trumps for Raymond when his efforts were recognised. The Digicel Men of Honour 2016/17 awards informed him that he had been nominated for the Atlas Steel Community Ingenuity Awards category.
Since winning the award recently, he and his people are more eager than ever to ultimately reach their objective.
Raymond dedicated his award to the efforts of his father, who sacrificed so much to give him a good education.
“If there is anything that I want to achieve before I leave this earth, it is to be providing the much needed service for my people which is a health centre. People are dying from treatable deceases and illnesses and I must do something. I have to, otherwise, I have not achieved anything at all,” Raymond said.
When the health centre project is completed, it will be the first ever permanent building with iron roofing in his village and will be a huge milestone for his community. This health facility will help minimise the maternity and infant mortality rate, help people live healthy lives free from diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera and typhoid, HIV/AIDs prevention and care, paediatrics, maternity care and other health concerns that affect rural communities.
Raymond believes that allowing people to suffer and not providing the maternal care mothers need, or the health care that young women need, is the worst form of violence that leaders can bestow upon their people.
“And so my efforts to do this is to right this wrong that has been going on for far too long in my community. I cannot sit back and just allow my people to be violated of their human rights,” he said.
Raymond is a local visionary leader who is working from nothing to provide health solutions to save lives in Baktaman. While the going is tough, he has not backed down. He has not abandoned his people to seek the comforts of jobs in the cities.
That, in itself, makes him a worthy recipient of a Men of Honour title.