God helps those who help themselves: Maiyua

By ELIAS LARI
THERE is life out there awaiting those who have the courage to pursue their dreams, heart’s desire and hopes despite facing hardship and circumstances in life, says a mother of two.
Many lose hope and fall off the track after coming across hardship, thinking that this is life’s offer, she said.
Joyce Maiyua earned K60 a fortnight but didn’t give up her dream despite facing so many challenges in her marriage, family life and in the community she lived in.
The 34-year-old had dropped out of school after doing her grade 10 at the Notre Dame Secondary School, Western Highlands, in 1988. She was actually forced to quit by issues such tribal fighting at her Baiyer village.

Maiyua hails from the Rami tribe, Maiyua clan, Manzip village in Western Highlands.
She did not stay around doing nothing though, believing that she still could become a nurse and fulfil her dream.
Maiyua’s aim was to further her education first to open more doors.
She focused on informal marketing for four years and in 2003 she had saved enough to apply to the St Paul’s Secretarial College in Mt Hagen.
After completing basic computing in 2004, she joined a computer shop to work and was paid K60 for a fortnight.
She knew she was being cheated so she sought employed at aa primary school in Mt Hagen in 2004.
Maiyua earned a K120 a fortnight,she was happier and kept the job until 2008 but soon found it hard to live on her earning with her two children.
So she moved on to Boroko Motors – from 2010-2011.
Maiyua was asked by her old school to come back and take the position she had but with a better pay. She became office secretary.
She upgraded her marks until 2006doing grades 11 and 12.
She applied for a position with the Mt Hagen Provincial Hospital as secretary to the director medical service (DSM) and was accepted in 2012
Maiyua was often touched while dealing with the problems of the sick.
She had openings for community health worker training and chose training at Baiyer in 2017 because she was a local and also wanted to be close to her two children.
She finally graduated in February.
With no permanent job now, Maiyua decided to return to the hospital and voluntarily help the Western Highlands health authority polio team as part of her job training.
She said that single mothers or widows should be thinking positive to achieve a better future.
“Since I dropped out from grade 10 or lived a separated (from her husband) life for six years , it did not stopped. I knew I had a task ahead to find myself a bright future,” Maiyua said.
“With God, all things are possible because He alone will help you when you start helping yourself.”
Maiyua said many women were becoming too dependent on their husbands which was becoming a major setback.
She said women could become equal partners with their male folks when they planned well because nothing good came for a person who was lazy.
“I still have a vision to move on to further my studies,” she said.
Maiyua said people who were lazy and expected handouts would never achieve their dream.
“My word to lazy people is stop praying to God to bless or help you when you don’t know how to take the first step because God helps those who help themselves.”