Father selling baskets to pay for school fees

The National National
Mose Mado is a subsistence farmer from Manari village, Koiari, Central. He sells cane baskets for K70 along the streets of Port Moresby. He was taking a break yesterday at a few blocks down from the Caritas Technical Secondary School at East Boroko when The National caught up with him. – Nationalpic by KENNEDY BANI

By YVONNE KAMBIBEL
SOME parents have enough money to send their children to school while others struggle to look for fees, as in the case of Mose Mado.
To send his youngest child to school this year, Mado is selling cane baskets along roadsides in Port Moresby so he can afford to pay his daughter’s fees in full before school starts next week.
“As a subsistence farmer, I had to look for alternatives to make enough (money) just to finance my daughter’s education,” he said.
His daughter will do grade 12 at Mt Diamond Secondary School this year. He said last year he had to pay a total of K2,200 for his daughter’s school fees and this year, the fees had decreased to K1,275.00 .
“I managed to pay K900 and would like to settle the rest with the money I earn from selling baskets,” he said.
Mado said his three older children were married with their own families, so his main concern now was seeing his youngest child finish her secondary education.
He said both he and his wife were subsistence farmers from Manari village in Koiari LLG.
Mado said to come to Port Moresby, they had to walk along the Kokoda Track, spend a night along the way and continue on foot to reach Ower’s Corner at Sogeri to catch a K7 bus or truck into the city.
He said he had made the baskets from cane he brought from the village and dye bought at the craft market at Tabari in Boroko.
Mado said selling baskets was his main source of income.
Mado is an efficient weaver who can make three baskets a day.
He said he had sold two of the five he made.
Mado said it would be a hassle to transport the baskets by bus so he walks around selling them to anyone who was interested.