Hard work helps Moses ascend a mountain

By JIMMY KALEBE
WHEN his dad died in 2000, Moses Daniel Solomon refused to return to school and stayed at home.
His cousin brother brought the nine-year-old from Umba village in the Kome local level government of Menyamya district, Morobe to live with him at Nadzab in Morobe.
It was the start of a new journey for Moses. While he was reluctant to return to school for a while, he eventually did and today he has two degrees from two different universities.
Moses, 31, graduated with a Bachelor in Education degree at the Pacific Adventist University and this year received a Bachelor in Public Administration degree from the Divine Word University.
After graduating at PAU in 2014, Moses was employed as a teacher at the Lae Secondary School. Then in 2017, he became the physical education officer with the division of sports in the Morobe administration. At the same time, he was pursuing his studies at the DWU in Madang.
“Gaining that level of education is never that easy for me, especially when I come from a (poor) family background.”
While living with his cousin at Nadzab, Moses started gardens growing peanuts and vegetables which he sold at the old Nadzab Market and Kamkumung Market.

“ It is all about hard work. Different people have different approaches towards life. Only a handful become successful at the end.

He was so busy with this gardening and marketing activities for three years, and being involved in church activities, that he forgot all about school.
“One afternoon in 2003, I came across a couple who asked me if I wanted to go back to school.
“I was lost for words. I told them I have been staying at home because there is no one to assist me with my school fees.”
That was the turning point for Moses. He decided then that he must return to school to complete his education.
Therefore in 2004, he enrolled in Grade Five at the Muya Primary School outside Lae. Then he completed Grade Eight in 2006 at the Gabmazung Primary School. He then attended the Salamaua High School and the Wawin National High School.
His academic results were always good. And he continued his gardening and marketing activities to pay for his school fees and personal expenses.
“I changed my marketing items from garden food to biscuits and flex cards. I started developing ideas to become a businessman in the future.”
When he was offered the Bachelor of Education degree course at the Pacific Adventist University in 2011, Moses continued his informal vending business. But he ensured that he allocated ample time to studying.
“During the day, I did my school work and in the night, I sell my store goods.”
At the end of his second year at PAU, he returned home to Lae with K5,000 he had saved from selling goods.
He bought a piece of land at Nadzab to build a home and small shop.
Moses opened his mini-shop at Nadzab on July 31 ideally located along the Highlands Highway. He also built a new home where he lives with his family.
“It is all about hard work. Different people have different approaches towards life. Only a handful become successful at the end.
“Whatever little you do in the beginning, think of it as what you may become or what you want to be in the future. Do it as if you had already have something you wished for.”
Moses Daniel Solomon (all biblical names by the way) knows all too well.