Doing it for country

By KEVIN PAMBA
UNITED States President John F Kennedy is famously quoted for making the following visionary statement: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
The 35th graduation ceremony of Divine Word University on Sunday 12 March, was a culmination of students, staff, parents and relatives, guardians and sponsors making President Kennedy’s patriotic challenge work in various ways.
Away from public attention, ordinary Papua New Guineans do many great things to get their children educated in universities. From parents and family members striving very hard to pay university fees to footing the bill for the graduation related expenses, people in PNG do so much out of sight for their siblings.
They do these thankless things for young men and women whose education and qualifications become assets to the nation and the employers who would utilize them for the benefit of their organisations.
Two graduating students from Hela objectified the philosophy behind President Kennedy’s statement in their own unique way too. This is their story.
Jackson Kane Mulupe (Bachelor of Business Management) and Moses Boyo (Bachelor of Business Accounting) decided to give something back to the University that educated them for the past four years. DWU like all universities expects alumni members to make a contribution back to their alma mater. For Mulupe and Boyo their contributions to their alma mater came on the day they were formally transiting to become alumni’s.
Mulupe from Komo and Boyo from Dauli arranged men from hamlets back in remote Komo sub-district in Hela to travel down to the Madang campus and to perform the famous Huli mali dance of the renowned Huli Wigmen in the opening and closing of the graduation ceremony. The Huli mali is a princely dance that imitates the colourful Raggiana Bird of Paradise showing its flamboyance and splendour high up on trees.
As Komo and the greater Hela society continues to capture media spotlight for the wrong reasons, the two young Hela elites decided to instil some pride by showcasing a small part of the Hela culture. And what better time to do it then on the day they were to join the elite club of university graduates from their trouble-torn province.
Mulupe who was the President of the DWU Student Representative Council last year (2016) said he and Boyo, who was also the 2016 Hela Students Association president decided to bring Mulupe’s relatives totalling 16 men from Patua village with their bilas (traditional costumes) down to Madang to perform.
It was the first time the dancers performed in a DWU graduation ceremony, although the dance was first performed there during the University’s annual Cultural Day in August, 2002. Back then DWU Hela student leader Max Ekeya from Koroba and colleagues such as James Bari, late Andrew Alphonse, and James Andila were among those who took part.
“Bringing my tribesmen from Komo down to perform on graduation was our way of saying thank you to Divine Word University which gave us the education and many positive values we are going out with,” Mulupe said.
“Our tribesmen came down at no cost to DWU because we wanted to make a contribution to the 35th graduation to show our appreciation.”
The Huli Wigmen travelled by road from Komo over two-days and arrived in Madang on the Wednesday before the graduation. While in Madang they practiced their dance routines and did some sight-seeing around “beautiful Madang” before the main event on Sunday. In Hela Huli custom, grand occasions go with befitting mumu feasts involving the roasting of pork. Instead of roasting pork in the mumu, Mulupe and Boyo roasted cut beef (from a whole cow) with other food on Saturday at the Sagalau cattle ranch.
The mumu was shared with tribesmen, family members, friends, school-mates and Hela and Southern Highlands students. During the meal, family and friends plus continuing students praised Mulupe and Boyo for their exemplary leadership while being students.
Some continuing Hela students such as John Irame and Alfred Kaiabe Jr were kind enough to take part in the Huli mali dance during the graduation ceremony and allowed the tribesmen who travelled in from Komo to relax and enjoy the occasion.
For Mulupe, the graduation was also special and worth celebrating with his family and tribesmen. Apart from receiving his Bachelor of Business Management degree, he was also bestowed the DWU President’s Leadership Award by University President Professor Cecilia Nembou for exemplary student leadership last year.
Mulupe said the leadership award includes a DWU scholarship for him to study in the Master of Leadership in Business Administration (MLBA) program in 2018.