LIFESTYLE

Woman seeks help for her growing family

DRIVEN by the will to be the role model for women in her village, 27-year-old Kylie Antipas from Nawae District in Morobe, made it her business with the support of her husband to access family planning services following the birth of her sixth child.
Kylie has witnessed women in her village die during child birth and having six children would mean a need for a higher income, more food and more land to share between her children.
High maternal mortality and a low contraceptive rate of just over 25 per cent continue to pose serious challenges for the country.
Kylie had her first child at the age of 17, straight after leaving school. During an antenatal care visit by the health department at her village clinic she learnt about two contraceptive pills, Depo Provera and the oral contraceptive pill and opted for Depo. However, due to the constant short supply of the pills at the nearest government clinic it was not possible to continue contraception.
An option was to travel to the next stocked clinic in Lae, however at a cost of K60 in transport this was prohibitive for Kylie as it meant sacrificing her family’s meals.
Kylie’s second child was born soon after her son turned three years old.
“The clinic at the village did not have Depo and I missed my dosage. I followed up for months and gave up when I discovered that I was expecting my second child.”
A year after the birth of her second child, Kylie fell pregnant again with her third child. Three years later, Kylie had two more children.
She now spent more time in child minding and less time in the gardens and at the markets. She was now faced with the burden of minding four young children and a baby.
Her sixth child was born in March this year – 18 months after the fifth child was born. In total, Kylie had six children in a space of 10 years. This has put a strain on the family with the increased need for food, clothes, medicine and school fees.
With support and consent from her husband, Kylie raised K40 in a week and took an hour boat ride with her six-month-old baby to receive family planning services at a public health clinic in Lae.
While in Lae, Kylie met a Marie Stopes outreach team and learnt about the various family planning methods including the long acting revisable contraceptives (Larc) or ‘implant.’

She returned home and after discussion and consent from her husband, Kylie received a five-year contraceptive implant.
An implant is made up of two small plastic rods the size of a matchstick. They are inserted under the skin on a woman’s upper arm. The implant slowly releases a hormone called progestogen in order to prevent pregnancy for up to five years. The implants must be inserted and removed by trained professionals.
Marie Stopes PNG have trained 296 clinicians to deliver long acting reversible contraceptives to provide family planning services.
“I am young, and I want to give space for my children to grow strong. I have one son and love to have another son in six to eight years from now,” Kylie says.
“I am filled with joy to receive the service for free and the counselling has helped me to understand and appreciate the benefits of family planning not only in terms of health but managing family finances.”
Marie Stopes with support from the Papua New Guinea – Australian Partnership, is reaching out to very remote and geographically challenging areas to offer family planning services.
Since their establishment in 2006, Marie Stopes PNG is now the largest provider of sexual and reproductive healthcare in the country providing rural outreach, urban centres social marketing and health worker training to better meet demand for family planning services.
In 2018, Marie Stopes provided contraceptives to 110,464 people. This contributes to improving maternal health, reducing maternal deaths, and enabling couples to decide on their family size.
Kylie hopes to bring the good news to the women in her village and introduce them to the family planning services offered by Marie Stopes.
She smiled and recalled countless times she and many other women in her village and neighbouring villages would approach the community clinic on family planning days only to be turned away by health workers due to the shortages of contraceptives. Those days are now gone.

• Story and picture courtesy of the PNG-Australia Partnership
  

AVIATION

By PISAI GUMAR
MOROBE has once again lost an aviation expert and rugby league legend in Simon Isaiah Elap from Lambaip Village in Nabak, Nawaeb District.
Some months ago last year, the provinnce lost a pioneer aircraft pilot in Thomas Keindip, from Kabwum.
Elap and Keindip both worked for North Coast Aviation (NCA); Keindip as pilot and Elap as an engineer and together they ensured that the unreached isolated villages received the basics in health and education.
Elap, known to many as Carlos, had a colorful career as a pioneer Morobean aircraft engineer. His loss has left huge shoes to be filled, just like chief pilot Keindip before him.
Among those who poured out their grief at the loss of the engineer were former governor Kelly Naru, Lae City Council member Carol Yawing, chief executive of NCA Jeff Thiele, general manager Brad Potts, pilot Henry Nilkare, colleagues and rugby league play mates.
Former PNG Ports Ltd chief executive Joe Kumgal was among those who attended Elap’s funeral.
Elap joined NCA in 1995 and served for 10 years then again from 2013-2018. He did aircraft engineering training at Port Moresby Technical College in 1979 after completing grade 12 at Sogeri National High School in 1978.
Late Elap worked for Aircair Pty Ltd, Lae as an apprentice then acquired his tradesman certificate in September 1986.
He later joined Coair Pty Ltd, Lae as a leading hand followed by a stint at Talair Pty Ltd, Lae as leading hand from January 1987 to June 1991.
He then joined Island Aviation, Rabaul as leading hand from June 1991-October 1992 followed by Wewak Aviation, Lae as leading hand from October 1992 to May 1995.
Elap then joined NCA, Lae as leading hand then held the position of chief engineer from May 1995-August 2010.
Life for late Elap began in Mt Hagen General Hospital on July 14, 1960. He was born to Mitbuam Simon from Boana, Morobe and Lina Dekba from Kamaneku tribe, Chimbu, his fathers’ second wife.
Elap’s had two biological sisters and three brothers and a sister from his father’s first wife.
Being the eldest, Elap always looked out for his sisters. The church at that time had great influence in such double marriages, and the family was unable to stay together.
Therefore the mother took Elap and his sisters back to Mt Hagen.
However, education was the reason that forced Elap to return to Lae and he secured a place at Amba Demonstration Primary School near Butibam Village.

Most of his life was with his fathers’ relatives in between Bumayong and Situm to complete his primary education.
Elap was accepted into Bumayong Lutheran High School in 1973 to do grades seven to 10 then known as forms one to four.
Life was tough and challenging for Elap in such a situation to live with wantoks and relatives of parents.
For Elap, spending most term breaks at school became a norm when he assisted teachers doing odd jobs while his classmates went home.
His determination always placed him among the top five students until he was selected to Sogeri National High School. At Sogeri, Elap became passionate about playing rugby league as the desire grew, becoming school team captain.
Elap was given three choices after completing grade 12; to be a medical doctor, a pilot or an aircraft mechanic. He choose the latter based on advice from his guidance teacher back in Bumayong.
He enrolled at Port Moresby Technical College in 1979 and later graduated with a certificate in aircraft maintenance.
He completed his aircraft maintenance engineering apprenticeship with Aircair, Lae from 1980-1983 and was awarded tradesman certificate by the Apprenticeship Board in 1984, certifying him as licensed aircraft maintenance engineer (Lame).
Apart from school and industrial trainings, rugby league was part of his life to socialise with friends. He was part of the Port Moresby Defence Rugby League Club in 1983. He was also the PNG Kumuls team that toured New Zealand in 1983.
In 1984, Elap joined Morobe Tigers while working with Aircair, Lae, followed by Coair and Talair between 1980 and 1990 yet remained a strong Tigerman has a player and a coach.
In 1986, Morobe Tigers won the premiership and went on further into Cambridge Cup challenge.
Elap then met his late wife, Sallyanne Poroda from Northern in 1984. In 1985 they had their first daughter, then a son in 1990 and another son a year later.
When he returned to Lae he worked for Wewak Aviation from 1992-1995. In Lae, Elap had two other children when he joined NCA from 1995-2010.
It was a deep challenge for Elap to juggle work and family life when his lovely wife, late Sallyanne passed away in January 2006, a few months after his dear mother, Lina Dekba passed away in October 2005.
As years went on, Elap met his second wife Bonnie Nap with whom Elap spent 12 years until his untimely death on Tuesday, Sept 17, 2019 at age 59.
Daughter Wendy, described his father as a great man who ran a very good race and the challenges were left for the children and grandchildren to continue from where he has left.
“His presence will be sorely missed,” Wendy said.
Naru described Elap as a humble Morobean that served NCA up to the rank of chief engineer and his untimely death leaves behind great memoir to cherish.
“Elap was among other Kumul legends and is known for his fast flowing backline attack and bone crunching tackles that left lasting memories over those he tackled,” Naru said.
“I salute you my brother for your legacy in aviation in Morobe to ensure NCA planes reached the unreached isolated airstrips in providing human needs,” Naru said.
Thiele described Elap as a Papua New Guineans who displayed great professionalism and skill and was always prepared to face new challenges.
Among some achievements, Elap received a mayday call from one of their aircraft, back then, that encountered engine problems and landed at on an embankment of Markham River.
Elap diagnosed the engine problem then fine-tuned the engine for a short take off and flew the aircraft safely out from the sand bank to Nadzab for thorough repairs. Such was his competence.
In recognition of Elap’s dedication and contribution to growth of Morobe, the provincial government allowed his body to be laid at the State cemetery in Lae.