Everyday people PNG

My father had a no-nonsense approach to life and we were all taught to value education and discipline.

If you don't work around the house, you don’t deserve a meal.

And this has taught me to not take things for granted.

There was no TV in the house. I like to say dad was the chief censor.

He scrutinised all reading materials to ensure there was no explicit content for consumption.

I buried my head and heart in English literature and spent time listening to the Beatles to master English for communication.

While in grade 12, I applied to Maritime College in Madang and PAU to do Bachelor of Nursing, but I didn’t pursue this because I couldn’t afford the school fees.

One of my brothers told me about City Mission in Moresby, where they could give me a second chance in life… I didn’t want to miss the opportunity, I headed down to the head office at Koki, I was interviewed and brought to the mission office.

I thought there is no more hope for me.

I followed the boys on the street, drinking homebrew and taking marijuana. I was just roaming around. 

Even though my father had a job, I still felt that there was emptiness in my life. It was worthless. I was not satisfied with my life because I really wanted to complete my schooling somehow.

Then I heard people mention the name of this place, City Mission. I wondered, what kind of place is City Mission? 

That was when I came to live with my relatives in Port Moresby. I decided to find out more about City Mission.

As a kid I was brought up in Bulolo District in Morobe Province, a township of historical background that was once an important gold dredging centre in the former Territory of New Guinea, with mines like Harmony Gold Mine, Wafi Gold Mine and PNG Forest Products.

In the home of Gold and Pine, life for me was challenging but I managed to complete my elementary and grade school despite the tribal fights and land owner disputes that occurred there on a regular.

To get a First-Class degree, Paul achieved a score of 90 percent for his research, placing him as the highest overall in his class and top of his cohort. Paul was also given a British Psychological Society Award for being top of his University and one of the top 100 (of 30,000) highest scoring students in the UK.

The award allows him to become a Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society, which is the first step towards chartership.

He is blessed with size, skill and the typical PNG aggression. Chris was born in Port Moresby to a PNG father and Fijian mother.

After impressive performances on the local scene for Naitasiri and the Fijian Latui, he earned selection in the Flying Fijians Autumn Nations Cup and came off the bench in his debut against Georgia. 

There is a big future for the former Marist student and will push for selection in the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

After completing eight weeks of online training on ultrasound from the esteemed Belgium firm, SDT Ultrasound Solutions, Pokana achieved this milestone and all through hard work, commitment and support of everyone that helped him through.

The SDT- course is a 16-module training program designed to detect early defects for the applications in mechanical, leaks, lubrication, electrical, valves, steam, hydraulics and tightness, Pokana received certification for SDT Level 1 Ultrasound Inspector ISO 18436-8.

I used to sell small second hand clothes, and then I came to Goroka and continued to market. I had come to Port Moresby for a church gathering, and I stayed. I continued to do my marketing, and when I had enough money, in brought my three children to Moresby.

I attend United Pentecostal Church at Erima. I was staying there when I first came to Moresby.

“I came to Moresby with Island Mobile Hire Cars. (The owner) brought us as security for the company so he built us permanent houses and told us to stay here and take care of his land. Now I had been here for 7 years. The owner of Mobile Hire Cars told us to start some small business activities to cater for ourselves, while he will continue to provide us with basic food for the house.

My wife and I started a small business of cooking mumu kaukau and selling at the Manu market. I peel and cook the kaukau and my wife takes them to sell.

Doreka has been very instrumental in the community development space, and for her contributions, she was the first person to ever receive the EWC award from the five villages, Papa, Lealea, Kido, Boera and Porebada in the Kairuku-Hiri District of Central Province.

The award is a testament of the great work women do in Papua New Guinea, especially in the rural areas.