Dad honours his dead son

PEOPLE are weakened and demoralised when someone close to them passes away. Others are angered when an innocent life is taken by violence or the evil whims of others. That is normal.
Then there are those who draw strength, invaluable insights and a good change of heart while they are dealing with a tragic loss and pain.
Stanley Huasi from Munji village in the Kubalia district of East Sepik province is one such person.
The Kimbe-based businessman lost his son and protégé Gideon Huasi – a student at the University of PNG in Port Moresby – in 2009.
The son at that time was the first president of the new Kubalia Students Association (KSA).
He was on his way to visit a friend at Gerehu when he was killed.  
Gideon Huasi would have celebrated his 27th birday on Nov 17.
The grief-stricken father had groomed his son to be a leader.
But out of the loss came the gain for students from Kubalia attending UPNG.
Huasi announced in October, at the end-of-year function for KSA in Port Moresby, that he was starting the foundation for two main purposes:
l To provide financial assistance to students at the university who may have difficulties in paying up their school fees or other necessities; and
l To support conventions or meetings that aim to instill moral qualities in young people so that they are groomed to take up future leadership roles.
He told the students, former students, guardians and Kubalia people and friends in the city that he is not a highly-educated man.
Huasi, who had been in the furniture-making industry for decades, said that despite this setback he wanted to help others in the same way that he tried to groom his son to reach the top of the academic pinnacle.
“Mi laik long helpim ol sumatin long skul bilong ol na tu long kirapim gutpela ol moral value na quality long laip bilong ol inap bai ol ken stap gutpela ol lida long pasin, toktok na strong long kamapim ol kainkain tingting na wok.
(I aim to assist students with their academic learning as well as in instilling moral values and qualities that will raise them to be good leaders in conduct, words and be vibrant and creative with ideas in their area of interest),” Huasi said.
He said today young people forget the culture of respect for the elderly, respect for themselves and others, and being careful about crossing over other people’s boundaries and jurisdiction.
Huasi, an elder in his local church, told the final year students that “money is not everything”.
As a father and businessman he knows that money often draws the heart of the educated young away from things that matter – values our traditional culture taught us and also what we know is morally correct as taught by the Bible.
It is possible that this initiative by the Munji villager is the first from the Kubalia district in which a sponsorship scheme by an individual is offered to Kubalia students studying at the premier university of PNG.
The Kubalia students themselves are happy about the heart that Huasi has.
They are serious also about what they want to do to help their people.
At this time, while they are on their long semester break, they are carrying an education awareness programme in different secondary and primary schools in Kubalia.