The patriot from Kudjip

Story and pictures By TONY PALME
I TELL this story in the hope that it will inspire hundreds of young people who are currently causing trouble for their families and communities to make a turnaround and become agents for change.
Meet Michael Parik. Now an older man, he detests bad habits, and rubbish.
He should know a thing or two about the big bad world because he was once a troublemaker who was a threat to his community, and engaged in illicit drugs and home brewed alcohol or steam as it is commonly known.
During those times, he would frequent Kudjip market every day and cause public disorder while drunk or on a high.
Today,Parik’sbad attitude has left him. He says he became a changed man while cleaning the toilets of Kudjip Nazarene Hospital in 2011 and was baptized the same year at the Nazarene Church at his Kuplang village.
“I decided to run away from my mates. The only place they would not disturb me or find me was the toilet. Nobody likes toilets.
“I was engaged as a toilet cleaner. I had no education. I only did Grade 6 in 1991, and dropped out because my father died and mom remarried.’’
In 2015 he left to become a security guard where he worked for two more years and then resigned to venture fulltime into his fish farming business, which he had started years earlier while still a cleaner.
“I got K183.29 from my cleaning job. I sacrificed this money and provided lunch for people who dug my fish ponds.”
He has this comical piece of advice for readers who are on a fortnightly salary. ‘‘Do not misuse your pay like a cassowary swallows food.
Don’t allow others to hold onto your bank card while you survive on credit.”
While digging the earth for fish ponds at Tolsi villagein 2013, Parik and his group unearthed more treasure.
Old traditional digging tools and axes were discovered, which prompted him to build an artifact center in his village to store the finds.
Parik is fortunate to be well versed in the history of his people having learnt through the teachings of his father, and naturally didn’t have second thoughts about setting up the mini museum.
Engaging the help of the Sunday School children from Kuma and Sekiang tribes, an artefact collection centre and display was put in place.
“It took me five years of physical work to establish this centre. We have built our own road and are maintaining the Jim Taylor track. So far over 60 tourists from Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, and Australia have visited. On Jan 27, we launched it as Tolsi Cultural Reviving Centre and Aqua Fauna Project Site.
“Tolsi is a place that has a lot of history. We have a bird watch site, natural waterfall, fish ponds, artefact displays and rest house, and a pineapple garden which has about 9000 heads. Our current plan is to expand this place and make it the tourism hub of Jiwaka,” Parik said.
With the help of villagers, a committee is now working towards registering the center with the Investment Promoting Authority (IPA).
Tour operator, Trans Niugini Tours which is based in Mt Hagen has recommended that the centre be upgraded into a modern facility to cater for tourism and cultural, and research purposes.
Tolsi is only 2km from the busy Highlands Highway.
Now the father of seven (two adopted), Parik, together with his wife Martina love the outdoors and are very close to Mother Nature. In fact, they keep a cuscus, a dog, a cat and native fowls, which all eat from one plate of food, and don’t squabble.
Parik also cleans around the market at Kudjip, something he started last Sept 16. He volunteers there from Mondays to Saturdays.
The town of Kudjip, he said, is the gateway to Jiwaka and should be kept clean.
He said betel nut spittle, careless discarding of rubbish, and pigs roaming freely around the market area is not a pleasant sight, especially when visitors are passing through the town.
“First impressions are important and stick for a long time in a person’s head,” Parik added.
He is appealing to his tribesmen and youths of the Kuma and Sekiang tribes to take ownership of Kudjip market and help make it a clean and safe place for everyone.
He is also urging youths to let go of drugs and alcohol and to return to the land.
Parik is indeed a special man and there should be hundreds more like him.
Maybe his birth date might have something to do with his nationalistic attitude towards life. You see, he was born on Sept 16, 1975, and therefore, shares the same birthday as PNG.