Kerowagi locals repair bridges

National, Normal
Source:

The National, Tuesday, May 10, 2011

THE people of Gena, Waugla and Sambugla in Chimbu’s Kerowagi district no longer have to carry heavy loads for up to 10km to reach markets – thanks to a Good Samaritan lawyer.
The lawyer, who did not want to be named, spent K20,000 to pay for repairs to three wooden bridges that collapsed last year.
With the road network in their area in ruins, the people rarely transport their cash crops like bags of coffee into town or the Duglogambal market.
But last month, the lawyer from Peter Kuman Lawyers and a local from the Kunabau area, recognised the hardship the people faced and financed the repairs using local labour.
In addition to paying for bridge repairs, he also cooked for those working on the bridges.
He said road network was very important because without good road and bridges, other vital services could not reach the people in rural areas.
He said with the collapse of the bridge, the people could not transport their garden produce to markets.
He said the road served more than 30,000 people in the Gena-Waugla constituency but since the local MP and Arts, Culture and Tourism Minister Guma Wau ignored the hardship the people faced, he decided to help.
A former teacher and community leader of the Sambugla tribe, Kembra Alphonse, said the people appreciated the lawyer’s help.
He said the bridges cost a substantial amount of money to repair and people did not know who was going to help them carry out repairs.
Alphonse said vehicles were now travelling into their villages, transporting passengers and goods back and into town.