Life teaches Helen empathy

CAREERS

By ZEDAIAH KANAU
In a country where leadership is commonly associated with patriarchy in almost every aspects of life, one young lass is breaking barriers by inspiring the next generation of Papua New Guineans moving forward.

TWENTY-four-year old Helen Yurus is a proud Papua New Guinean with an enduring passion to help progress the nation in any way she can.
Helen recently graduated from the Legal Training Institute (LTI) and was admitted to the bar of the National and Supreme Courts on Dec 13. Born to Margaret Yurus and late William Yurus, Helen comes from East Sepik where dad is from Turubu Village and mom is from Boikin. She is the last of four children.
Helen’s dad was a telecommunications engineer while mom was a primary school teacher before she assumed a teaching role with the Red Cross special education centre in Hohola, NCD where she teaches special-needs student’s (hearing and speech impaired) sign language.
“I’ve always look up to my dad because he was a man of integrity. Regardless of his job and his role he always wanted to do the right thing which was important to us growing up,” Helen says.
“I have two older sisters and a brother. Dad always instilled in us that as women in our society we (my sisters and I) must be independent and not depend on others too much. He raised us to be strong and independent and that’s why I admire my dad.”
Helen began her schooling at Lahara Pre-school in 2001. In 2009 she completed grade eight at Korobosea International School and enrolled at the Port Moresby International School (Pomis) the following year. While in grade 10 in 2011, her late dad switched jobs and was unable to complete her fees for that year.
Helen transferred to Jubilee Secondary School in 2012 to do grade 10 again and remained at Jubilee until she finished her secondary education in 2014.
But a month from her grade 12 exams, Helen’s dad William passed away and her life came crumbling down. Before his passing, Dad William had always dreamed of her daughter (Helen) becoming a lawyer.
“I never wanted to apply for law; I wanted to become an economist but because dad died, all my family expected me to choose law.
“My big sister Wilma Yurus is a very important person in my life. She and her partner Matthew Tade are like my second parents. They practically looked after me when my dad passed away.”
Before travelling to Wewak for dad’s funeral, Helen changed her school leaver form selection from economics to law at the very last minute and was selected for law at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) in 2015.
Whilst at university, Helen heard about The Voice Inc.
“I’m always passionate about contributing to the growth of the country so I heard about The Voice Inc PNG, which is a platform for young people to be engaged, like a youth programme to help build your leadership skills and to know how you can give back as a young person.”
Helen was an active member of the Law Student Society (LSS) and in her second year at university, she became class representative for all second year law students in 2016.
“In 2016, in order to help my mother who was struggling to pay back the loan for my fees, I applied to the Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited Scholarship scheme and was a successful recipient and as such they have met my fees from my third year of studies till the completion of my education at LTI this year.”
Helen’s journey took another turn when she got pregnant while still in university.
“I got pregnant when I was in third year and I didn’t know how to tell my mother about it. When I did it took a lot for her to come around and accept that I was pregnant.”
The year 2018 was an eventful one for the young lass. Before registering for her final year of studies, Helen was shortlisted for the 2018 Kokoda Track Foundation (KTF) Archer Leadership programme and was selected for 2018.
The KTF is a non-governmental organisation that contributes to education, leadership and health in the country in order to keep the spirit of Kokoda alive through its team headed by Dr Genevieve Nelson.
Concurrently, Helen has recently completed an inaugural three-month internship programme with Transparency International and applied for the KTF programme prior to finishing her training. As an Archer leader under the KTF, Helen was selected to travel to Australia. On May 11 that year, a month before travelling, Helen gave birth to her daughter Tehillah Azure-Mira Wariambu before marrying the father of her child Percy Wariambu.
“It was a complicated birth so I had to recover within two weeks and then come sit for my first semester exams.”
Helen and other KTF recipients visited Sydney and Melbourne in their two week trip which centred upon adaptive leadership.
“In Melbourne we went to visit Newcrest and spoke with the vice president. While in Sydney I went to Dentons which is one of the biggest law firms in the world and was fortunate to do a one-day work experience with them in their Sydney office.”
While away, Mum Margaret and Sister Wilma and her husband Matthew stepped in and raised Helen’s daughter which became the norm leading up to her final days of studies.
Upon returning, Helen managed to complete her formal years at university level awaiting graduation the next year (2019). Helen was also presented with a K1,000 grant through her KTF scholarship. While prepping for husband Percy’s graduation at the University of Technology in Morobe, Helen consulted the KTF about doing her community project in an elementary school in Morobe, located in her husband’s village.
Using her grant money, Helen liaised with an organisation called Library for All which is based in Australia that provides culturally appropriate books directed for Papua New Guinea children.
“Comprehension is really important; your foundation is really important. Teaching them (children) at an early age when they are trying to comprehend should be culturally appropriate in their context so that they have a better understanding,” she says.
Helen bought 32 brand new A5-sized books written by PNG authors for children aged three to seven years old.
“Shipping was really expensive so I had to ask the KTF chief operating officer Mike Nelsen and CEO Dr Genevieve Nelson to bring the books when coming to PNG and thankfully that’s what they did.”
Helen went to donate the books to the Puseka Elementary School for their library in Puseka Village, Huon Gulf in Morobe on April 7. She hopes to continue to give back to the community anyway she can. Last April 26, Helen was able to achieve what her late dad had wished for her by graduating with a law degree from UPNG.
“The four years was a real struggle but I was happy that I was able to make my mum proud because my dad wasn’t there. So my sister and mum, those are the two people that told me to never give up when things got tough and when I wanted to withdraw from school.”
Helen then went through another six months at the LTI for a practicing certificate whilst at the same time was chosen (unanimously) to lead as the female class representative of the LTI 2019 trainees. She earned the respect of her colleges by treating everyone as equals regardless of gender.
Balancing the duties of being a mom and student at a young age wasn’t easy but fortunately for Helen, husband Percy with the support of his family, father Gregory and mother Abigail were able to assist her with that.
On Nov 29, she graduated from LTI and was the recipient of the female class leader award.
“Going through the KTF Foundation, going through the adaptive leadership programme teaches you to take a step back and look at what is happening in front of you.
“It has taught me to be innovative and to stand firm on my values and have empathy for other people. You don’t know what other people are facing every day.
“I’ve been through situations that brought me down. You are not what you are without the experiences you go through. I don’t pretend to be anyone else but myself. I’m not going to pretend that I wasn’t pregnant or I had the perfect life after uni because I didn’t.”
“We all have a story to tell and that’s my story. That’s how I lead having empathy and putting everyone else before me and that’s what life is supposed to be about.”