Birth of a new township in Middle Ramu

COVER STORY

**Madang Governor Ramsey Pariwa with a book on the plight of the Gandep people.** **– Pictures by JAMES KILA**

By JAMES G KILA
ONE of the country’s least developed districts located in Madang, namely Middle-Ramu is about to see the birth of a new mission township in its remote and far-flung plains.
The development of this mission station goes under the local name Gandep Project in recognition of a neutral, multi-tribal, community meeting point and trading post for the remote villages in Middle-Ramu district on the banks of the Ramu river.
To enable implementation of this project, Madang Governor Ramsey Pariwa and the Member for Middle Ramu and Chairman of the Middle Ramu District Development Authority, Kansol Harwai Kamdaru on Thursday, Feb 1, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with an incorporated mission-based entity, Transform the Nations Limited Australia
The Gandep Project involves fundraising to purchase plant equipment, machinery and materials to upgrade an airstrip in the area, construct two bridges and road approaches, and deliver 15 kilometers of road.

The Gandep Project plans to reconstruct a track to an improved all-weather standard and to extend and rebuild the grass airstrip at Tsumba, the village at the Ramu River end of the track and other infrastructure that would support the mission and township

**Signing of the MOU. From left: Geoff Miller, Grahame Kerr, Governor Pariwa and Middle Ramu MP Kansol Kamdaru.**

Governor Pariwa welcomed the guests from Transform the Nations Limited, including its international director, Grahame Kerr and the chairman Geoff Miller who travelled all the way from Toowoomba in Queensland, Australia to Madang for the MOU signing.
The signing r paves the way for the facilitation of the project by the Melanesian Evangelical Church of Christ in the remote Gandep area of Middle-Ramu district.
Access to medical and education facilities is difficult as local trade routes since the colonial era and even the post-independence era takes up to three days to navigate each way and involves walking, canoeing and road transport.
Pariwa expressed gratitude to Transform the Nations and the Melanesian Evangelical Church of Christ, and acknowledged the lack of services, poor infrastructure and government’s inability to adequately address the needs of the people.
The dream of creating the Gandep Project came about after Jim West, who is the project director, visited the remote habitat in the Middle Ramu district in 2009. West was appalled at the poor state of the community welfare, people dying prematurely from diseases, predominantly malaria, a high proportion of mothers and children dying during childbirth, abandoned and overcrowded schools and a sense of isolation pervaded the villages.
After extensive consultation with the local people Jim and his friends committed to help the Gandep people by working with them to improve the track and to open the possibility of self-sustainable health, education and trade activity in this remote and disadvantaged part of Madang province.
The Gandep Project plans to reconstruct a track to an improved all-weather standard and to extend and rebuild the grass airstrip at Tsumba, the village at the Ramu River end of the track and other infrastructure that would support the mission and township.
According to a statement from the Transform the Nations Limited Australia, the Gandep Project would be developed in nine stages.
It further stated that about 140 volunteers from Toowoomba and the surrounding areas have worked over the past 10 years to complete stage one and two of the project and have raised Aus$2.5 million (about K6 million) go complete these stages. A further Aus$4 million (K9.75 million) is required over three years to complete stages three to six of the project in Gandep.
Governor Pariwa in his address after the signing of the MOU acknowledged the Gandep project stating that the Government seemed to operate in isolation but saw the mission as a development partner and stressed that the Madang government was interested in becoming a partner in this project.
Both Pariwa and MP Kamdaru stated that to reduce bureaucratic bottle-neck and address compliance issues, they would assist the mission in getting appropriate support to meet Internal Revenue Commission (IRC) tax obligations or exemptions including addressing customs and clearance issues to allow the shipment of over K5 million worth of heavy equipment and machinery that would also include a motorised barge or landing-craft specifically designed and built to transport fuel, goods and supplies up the Ramu River.
The barge alone is valued at Aus$1.6 million (K3.9million) and would in future service the Ramu plains to move cargo for the Middle Ramu people.
The MoU signing now paves the way for the commencement of the development of a mission station or township that would service 170 remote villages with an approximate population of over 20,000.
Assistant Speaker of the National Parliament and Middle-Ramu MP Kansol Kamdaru was delighted following the MOU signing and acknowledged that the Gandep Project now partly fulfilled his aspirations to help develop Middle Ramu road and bridge infrastructure, health, education, youth, women and economic activities.
A glimmer of light is beginning to glow in this dark and remote region of Middle Ramu eventually.

James Kila works as a media officer with the Madang Governor’s Office