Proving life is what you make it

By CHARLES MOI
HAVE you ever wondered where children who grow up in the settlements of Port Moresby end up?
Some of us might say they usually turn to crime, prostitution, or beg on the busy streets of Port Moresby to earn money for themselves and their families.
But Max Asher Puksy is one of many who are proving that people who grow up in settlements can get ahead in life.
At 30, he owns an information technology company and is pursuing a Masters in Science in Computer Engineering in Embedded Systems at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia.
Puksy, from Silo village, Malalaua district in Gulf, grew up in a settlement at Horse Camp located in the outskirts of the nation’s capital.
His father died in 1992 when he was four years old. His mother Fifi remarried a year later to Puksy Akere.
“I grew up in a settlement,” he said.
“I could go to school without food. My mum was a simple village woman.
“As a young man, it was unusual for me to have dreams that seemed to big for me to have. My friends couldn’t believe everything I said to them.”
Puksy completed his primary education at Butuka Primary School in NCD in 2003.
The following year, he was selected for grade 9 at Kila Kila Secondary School.
In 2007, he completed grade 12 at Kila Kila Secondary and was selected to study physics, electronics and instrumentation at the University of Technology (Unitech) in Lae, Morobe.
He completed his tertiary studies at Unitech in 2011 and then joined Mission Aviation Fellowship the following year.
He worked there as an IT officer providing support to more than 100 users at MAF headquarters in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands.
After a two-year stint with MAF, Puksy joined Christian Radio Missionary Fellowship PNG in 2015 as the IT specialist in Goroka, Eastern Highlands.
While on ministry duty in the Solomon Islands, Puksy met Pastor Zechariah Kepongi and his wife Aidah.
Zechariah, who is the senior pastor of the Soul Harvest Ministry International based in Lae, offered Puksy an office space to help grow his business.
Puksy agreed and on Feb 1, 2016, he officially launched his IT business called Ruach Information Systems.
He said he ventured into the IT business when he saw that the country was in dire need of technology upgrade in terms of hightech information technology.
“I started with an idea and an office,” he said.
“That’s all. I didn’t have any financial capital then. It was only the environment and an idea.
“This was what my mentor-parent Zechariah told me: ‘You just need an idea and a conducive environment’.”
Apart from his academic achievement and business venture, Puksy also has time to serve God in ministry work around the country.
Puksy says that his belief in God has been the secret to his success.
“I have lived an independent life since I was 12 years old serving God radically without fear and favour even to the point where many of my friends whom I grew up with gave up serving God.”
Puksy is the founder and president of Impacting the Nations for Christ Ministries International, and is involved in other ministries in Papua New Guinea and overseas.
Today, Puksy owns a repair shop and IT training centre called RIS Chartered Institute for IT inLae.
“The main purpose of this organisation is to support ministry work and train IT professionals in PNG,” he said.
“I lived a simple life and am still living it even though I am a successful young man in ministry and business.
“I don’t boast too much on what I do.
“I am a quiet young man but when I’m serious about anything I wish to pursue as long as it gives glory to God, I pursue it with all I have.
“To this point I know dreams are real and if you have a mum who is a woman of prayer, you dreams will shake nations.”