Ex-teacher facilitates change

The National Weekender
COMMUNITY

By PAUL MINGA
TO CHANGE the face of a community or society requires determined leadership and input by people themselves foremost.
Additional to that it also requires the use of funds and other resources from either abroad or within the country to get a dream project off the ground.
It is a dream of every ordinary Papua New Guinean to see change or development in his or her community. However, ordinary people have been  hoping for ages for better infrastructure developments and service delivery like sealed roads, good health and education infrastructure, safe drinking water, electricity supply, permanent homes, bridges, effective radio  communication links and others.
Whenever such infrastructures and services are in place this definitely brings smiles to the faces of those have been hoping and wishing for such vital services in their communities.
For those living in remote and outback parts of the country it is certainly a dream to access developments and enjoy economic benefits for years on end. Some people grow old while wondering and anticipating and some have passed on.
To make people’s dreams for tangible developments and better economic opportunities to arise in a community, an agent has to bring to the attention of relevant government offices and donor agencies the needs of a particular community.
For the Sanap Ward in Baiyer LLG, Western Highlands, former primary school headmaster Joe Bolo Alkan and Councilor Wete Pekewa are determined in their efforts to initiate several community projects for their community.
Alkan who is acting as a consultant, with the assistance of Councilor Pekewa, is spearheading five major projects that will change lives and at the same time create economic opportunities for the local community.
The five community projects are the Mt Alimus Tourist Resort, Wara Wal National Park, Sanap Mothers Resource Center, Sanap Elementary School and Sanap EBC Church.
The elementary school, the women’s resource center and the EBC church currently have semi-permanent structures which will be upgraded. The Mt Alimus tourist center and Wara Wal National Park are two newly identified projects that the community sees as potential tourism products that can generate incomes for the community.
Alkan said the five projects would cost an estimated K3.5 million which will be provided by the various donors. Mul-Baiyer MP Koi Trappe has been notified about the community projects and stands ready to step in with assistance when the community and donor agencies have done their share of the work.
To get these community-initiated projects off the ground, also requires a combined effort of the community as well as educated elites from the area, leaders at all  three levels of government and the donor agencies with their input of funding, advice, resources and other forms of assistance.
Alkan and Pekewa are committing their own time and resources in trying to drive change and provide economic opportunities for their community.
Donor agencies that have been approached for assistance are the Australian High Commission, Japanese Embassy, American Embassy, Bill Gates Foundation and Bill Clinton Foundation, Alkan said.

  • Paul Minga is a freelance writer.