Great Wall of China

By MATHEW YAKAI
OUR story starts at the foot of Mt Giluwe, the second highest mountain in Papua New Guinea which stands tall between western and southern highlands. Meandering along its foot is the mighty Kagul River which feeds numerous tribes, including the Kepakas, as it finds its way to the sea.
It is there, with the Kepaka tribe of Pulguwa village, that Kepaka Kunjil was born into an ordinary life and not much else. His son, Jeffrey, is 25 years old now.
When Jeffrey grew up in the remote village that is smothered by fog from Mt Giluwe in the mornings, he never knew that one day he would travel far from home, walk the Great Wall of China and visit Beijing’s Forbidden City– two great icons of ancient civilization.
Being born into his parents’ ordinary life, Jeffery had to work hard if wanted to escape to something better, but it was difficult with parents who were poor subsistence farmers and who struggled with the cost of sending him to school. Then help came in the form of an angel called Gabriel Andandi, a former educationist who later worked with the United Nations.
“Andandi assisted me since I came to POM to do my grade 9 in 2007. He paid my fees from grade 9 to 12 at the secondary level. Since then, I asked him for sponsorship to do my tertiary education and he assisted again in 2014 to 2017 here in China. It is costing more than K30,000 so far,” Jeffery said.
“I am currently studying international economics and trade in Wuhan University”, a state-funded university in Wuhan, Hubei, central China. “This is my third year. It is costing me K12,000 per year.”
Back home as a child, Jeffrey attended Alkena Primary before moving to Kiripia in the Lower Kagul where he did grades 7 and 8. He moved to Ianu High School to do grades 9 and 10 and then grades 11 and 12 at Port Moresby National High School in 2010.
He wanted to study in China but couldn’t afford it, so he wrote to several businessmen from his area asking for help. Anandi, from Tamul-Nebilyer, raised his hand and offered help.
“The moment he said he’d assist, I was very excited, jumping up and down and shouting on top of my voice and that excitement almost hit the top of my roof,” Jeffrey said.
Jeffrey has been in China since 2013.
“China is literally a world within itself. The people do not need anything (from the world) outside because what they need is produced and manufactured in China. They have the population for labour and a competitive market demand and supply,” he said.
Initially the language barrier was a problem: “It was very difficult to speak to an ordinary Chinese on the street or in a shopping mall. Even in the Chinese language class, I sometimes found it very difficult to speak to my teacher. I couldn’t understand a word but today I can speak and understand Chinese.”
Jeffery is having some great experiences, like with the food, culture and the climate.
“I really like Chinese culture which I find very unique. Chinese people are very nice and friendly. When you ask for help, they are always available to assist you. They like making friends with foreigners as much as they can in order to improve their English. If a Chinese person takes you out for lunch (for example), he or she will want to meet the cost of the meal.”
Jeffrey has visited The Great Wall of China and the National People’s Congress (or parliament. “I visited the Forbidden City in Beijing and witnessed the preserved body of late Mao Zedong, the former chairman of the Communist Party of China and the founding father of the People’s Republic of China.”
And he likes the competitive environment of the Chinese education system: “Experiencing the real life of education by competing and interacting with blacks, whites and people of all races is very rewarding.”
And the future? “The best is yet to come,” he said.