Rex makes his mark

By REBECCA KUKU

UP in the mountains of Southern Highlands is a small town called Ialibu, with big ice-cold rivers, green mountains and friendly people that always have a smile on their face despite the hardships they face. Unlike the rest of the Highlands area where there is a lot of food and cash crops, Ialibu is too cold to grow food or cash crops. The people depend mostly on sweet potatoes and a leafy green they refer to locally as rani. But despite not having the resources that other parts of the Highlands have, people from Ialibu are resilient and have survived. Since the 70’s, in knowing and accepting that they don’t have natural resources that could make money for their area, they instead have invested everything in human resource. Children and education was a great priority.
This is the story of a man from Ialibu who rose above the hardships of early life to make a mark in his area.
Rex Yatu was born and raised in Kupia Village in the Koare LLG in the Ialibu-Pangia district. Both his parents were unemployed and the family depended on subsistence farming. Life was hard back then because many times sleet would fall on their gardens and damage whatever little they grew.
But his parents, no matter what life threw their way, would always struggle to save K200 or K300 per year. That money was for their children’s education. Rex was the second child in the family of two. His sister was the elder. The cycle of struggle continued year I, year out. Many times, Rex would want to forego school and stay home to help his parents toil the earth and grow sweet potatoes. His parents however, wouldn’t have any of it and sternly encourage him to attend school.  Despite the long distance and the cold sometimes, he would heed his parents’ advice.
Rex completed his primary school in the late 80s at the local Koare Primary school and went on to Kagua High School in the Kagua-Erave District of Southern Highlands. After completed high school there he entered Kudjip Nazarene College of Nursing. After nursing school he was accepted into the University of Papua New Guinea’s Medical Faculty at Taurama where he studied Public Health.
His first job was with NCDC a Safety Coordinator and he then moved to the mining sector where he worked for almost 15 years. While working with mining Rex undertook a Fire and Emergency training course at the Queensland Fire and emergency in 2011 and studied fire investigations of major incidents or what is known as Taproot Course at the Huntersville Fire and emergency in New South Wales.
He retired in 2014 and now runs his own Health and Safety Company called the PNG Health and Safety Management Services based at Hohola in the Nation’s Capital District. As a single parent with four kids, his small business helps support the family.
He described hardships as like stepping stones.  “We go through it and we take strength from it.”
Despite his struggle through life, Rex is now a leading figure in the Fire and health Safety Sector. His company is specialised in fire fighting, fire assessments, fire audits, Health and safety systems for companies, Environmental risk assessment, Domestic and industrial waste management and supplying of safety equipment’s to companies.
He was recently engaged to upgrade fire safety systems at the Kerema and Daru hospitals and serves many other corporate clients.
“I grew up in the village, every day I would walk to school in the freezing weather, I never knew that the road of education would take me this far,” he said.
Rex is thankful to his Parents, who even though were uneducated, believed in education and worked hard to see their children go to school.
“They made a lot of sacrifices, and when I look back at those times, I am filled with gratitude for two people who gave me the key that has opened a lot of doors for me.”
Rex is encouraging young people from Ialibu, and PNG, to step up and embrace education.
“Even though we don’t have gas and oil, or coffee and copra, or many food crops, we have education, embrace it, and it will open many doors for you.
“We have people, brothers and sisters, tribesman and clansman, support them in their education.”
On the topic of business, Rex said those wishing to start up business had to believe in themselves and stay focused in order to become successful.