True education is mind development

EDUCATION

THE year obviously started on a high note for the Port Moresby-based Human Development Institute when 51 participants enrolled for the Personal Viability training. This batch has come from all over Papua New Guinea. It was also a mixture of ages ranging from the youths that kept the class on their toes and the elders who kept the class grounded. The most important issue emphasized all the time is family as this batch of participants was family oriented. We had the pleasure of having sisters, husband and wife, mother and son and mother, father and daughter.
This was an exceptional mixture of participants which eventually paved way for the each individual life experiences to come through in their testimonies.
It was amazing to witness the people from all walks of life sharing experiences and forming solutions on how best they can help themselves and the rest of their fellow Papua New Guineans when they go back to their streets, their schools, their offices, their villages and most importantly their families.
The theme for this batch of students was “True Education is Mind Development” which is proven over and over again that it is true.
In order for all things to be possible you have to make up your mind to start. Change comes through the transformation of the mind which leads to the transformation of the person.
See below brief testimonies from some of the participants.

Clautilda Semmy
The 45-year-old hails from the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and is a full time employed single mother of seven beautiful children.
She is very youthful and has a lot of positive energy towards life.
This PV training for her was an eye opener for her and also a rewarding one as she stood out as one of the highest scorers of the maths test in this batch.

Having to juggle motherhood and be there always for all her seven children is a challenge but that’s what makes life interesting. The more challenging it is the more rewarding it becomes at the end of each goals achieved.
The most important lesson that she has learnt from this PV Training is that in order for people to add value to you and your life you have to add value to them first like in order to receive you have to give.
All the things you say and do will always have a reaction to it so the more positive you live life the more that comes back to you. She is proudly walking out of HDI knowing there are better days ahead for her and her children.
The training has changed her. She confesses she had done a lot of negative things but this has changed. She is now a changed person.
As a single mother, she had many blessings coming my way but without the knowledge I now possess, I squandered it all on drinking and gambling.

Phanuel and Aileen Aivei
This husband-and-wife duo came all the way from their home in Maipemairu in the Kikori District of Gulf to specifically attend this PV training.
It was not an easy journey coming to Port Moresby as they had to travel three hours in the open sea and six hours on the Hiritano Highway.
That was not all; their son was very sick but because they were determined they made it in time to attend training.
They both have learnt so much and are very thankful to HDI and the coaches for imparting the part needed knowledge and skills to them.
The most important lesson they have learnt was about never giving up on dreams that they would like to achieve as through the challenges faced they would grow stronger and more determined than before.
Another life time lesson they have learnt is valuing yourself as a person first so that you can do the same to people and things in and around you so it can have a ripple effect to the environment that you live in and of course it comes back exactly the way it went out.

Having to juggle motherhood and be there always for all her seven children is a challenge but that’s what makes life interesting. The more challenging it is the more rewarding it becomes at the end of each goal achieved.

“We are very privileged to have attended this training and we take with us this precious knowledge and hope to spread the word of PV as much as we can as we head back home,” Phanuel said.
Former politician and UPNG law lecturer Stephen Pokawin shared with the graduates his experience of introducing the HDI PV training in Manus where representatives from all LLGs are attending the level one and two trainings. The goal of introducing PV in Manus is to one day realise the province’s dream of becoming economically independent.
Pokawin was asked by the Manus provincial government and administration to come up with a political and economic model to chart a new course for the province.
As a former MP, working on the political option was the easier task but when it came to devising an economic model, Pokawin had to look for the right people with the right kind of expertise to help Manus achieve its dream.
He heard of HDI founder Samuel Tam and met him in mid-2018. That meeting led to frequent visits and eventually, the provincial government and administration signed an agreement with HDI to conduct training in Manus.
The first such training was conducted toward the end of last year.
The case of Manus taking on HDI philosophy and training in large numbers is an inspiration to the 51 participants or praxis who attended the first level PV training in 2020 and many among them are planning to attend the next stages of the training later in the year.