Baby unlikely to meet daddy

By GABRIEL LAHOC
THE Kauku family is filled with mixed emotions following the birth of a baby boy whose father, Alphonse Kauku, is still missing at sea.
He is on the list of “missing” passengers who were travelling on the mv Rabaul Queen when it sank on Feb 2 off the coast of Finschhafen in Morobe.
While his family members who live in Hoskins, West New Britain, are happy to welcome the new addition, the loss of the father hangs over their heads like a dark cloud.
The family is beginning to accept that any hope of finding Alphonse alive wanes as each day passes.
But his father, Pr Freddy Kauku, says holding his new grandson for the first time has somewhat lessened the pain of their loss.
He thinks the grandson takes after his father and that has helped the family in some way in coping with their grief. 
Alphonse’s wife Martha, from Markham in Morobe, gave birth to their first child last Wednesday in Lae – three weeks after the inter-island ferry sank in rough seas.
Kauku, 24, an apprentice plumber with Lae Builders & Contractors, was returning to Lae after his two-week visit to his family at Kwalakesi village.
Part of his plan was to move his young family there later.
According to his family, Kauku was a devoted Christian member of the South Sea Evangelical church in Kamkumung.
When they heard about the sinking of the ferry the day after the disaster, his parents refused to eat as they prayed for their son.
Kauku flew to Lae two days after the disaster.
Even then, he was prepared for the worst – identifying the body of his son and arranging for his funeral.
Now that he has become a grandfather, his grief has been lifted to some extent.
“We, the family, have mixed emotions,” he said.
“We have been grieving for my eldest son and now, after holding my grandson in my hand and noticing the resemblance to my son, I am very happy and proud.
“In the baby, I see that my son has returned.
“I visited our church in Kamkumung and was shown his various work and contribution towards the building of the church facilities.
“I was heartbroken
but proud at the same time.”
He will return to the village soon but will come back to take his daughter-in-law and his grandson to meet the Kauku family.
Kauku thanked the churches, individual Christians, government agencies and organisations which assisted them during the worst maritime disaster in the country.