Mountain boy finds delta love

WEDDING

By JOSEPH KENA’E KA’AU
NEVER did he dream of finding his bride in the swamps of the Purari delta in the Gulf Province.
Nor did he know that travelling around to do his job or maybe to go shopping would not be on roads. Rather it would be in a motorised dinghy, travelling through numerous waterways to get from one location to another.
From Tega, near Mt Hagen city in the Western highlands, then 28-year-old Bradley Mathew Parapi responded to a request from his relative Jim Ishmael to help him do some volunteer electrical work in Kapuna, Gulf.
Jim is an electrical engineer, helping at Kapuna during his free time. Bradley was told that the work would be for a few weeks or maybe a few months.
Being a Christian and a qualified electrician, it was not difficult for him to accept the request, when he was told that Kapuna was a church-run organisation and that his skills were needed.
His first experience of the delta environment was his first-ever dinghy ride from Kaumeia head base to Kapuna Hospital on July 9, 2019.
“I have done so many dinghy trips since that first one, even travelling in the open sea to Kerema. Sago, fish and crabs have become a part of my daily diet, its normal now,” Bradley says.
A month after arriving at Kapuna, two things happened that will probably have a lasting impact on his life.
“Firstly, the Kapuna management asked me to stay on and supervise the electrical aspects of the upgrade of the hospital. But more importantly I made the connection with my now wife, Sarah Aua.”
Sarah was and is still a health worker, working in Kapuna hospital. She is from Mapaio village near Baimuru, and is the daughter of long-serving Baimuru public servant Aua Imura.
It was a few words initially, then more words. Eventually, after almost three years, and after the initial acquaintance had flourished into serious romance and eventually love, Bradley and Sarah were wedded at Kapuna on April 16, 2022.
“I know it is a big step in my life, but I know in my heart now that Bradley is the right man for me. We believe in God and we know that God has brought us together and he will lead us into the next phase of our lives,” Sarah prophesied.
The wedding was witnessed by a heavy Kapuna presence; both national and international colleagues were guests. But not to be outdone, the Hagens made their presence felt as well. Bradley’s mother, Rachael Parapi, his brother and five other female relatives graced the wedding.

For all of them it was their first time to travel in a dinghy in the open sea and the rivers. Surely an experience they will never forget. They will also have with them a new family member in Sarah Aua.
“I have found peace working here in Kapuna. I have also found Sarah here. Kapuna will be in our hearts forever,” Bradley concluded.
In October, the Kapuna community witnessed a similar wedding, when young lovers met while working there.
It was an international wedding of a Brazilian to a Canadian.
Vitor Santana, recalled vividly his mother and aunts praying earnestly to God for a very special woman for him as his time neared. Never imagined in his wildest dreams that he would have to travel thousands of miles away from his homeland, to a place that he had never been to before, to find this very special woman, from a different country, in the swamps, with the mosquitoes, the crocodiles and the mud of the Purari delta, in the Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea.
The bride was Canadian, the groom Brazilian the best man American, the bridesmaids were from PNG, Samoa and Australia, and the celebrant, a New Zealander.
All in addition to guests, from Holland and Australia. Indeed, it was an international wedding ceremony in the swamps of the Purari delta.
Today, April 16, the Kapuna community gathered to witness another love story being told and affirmed in solemn ceremony.
Aparently, the man from Tega has come to stay and the girl from the Purari delta has ensured that.

• Joseph Ka’au is a freelance writer