From Firewood and kerosine lanterns to Florescent Tubes: A self-help Development Initiative for a Rural Community

I typed the name of my birth place "Iyaupolo village, Papua New Guinea" on Google and this response appeared: Your search - Iyaupolo village, Papua New Guinea - did not match any documents. This doesn't surprise me because this tiny village is devoid of electricity, basic health, education, water supply and sanitation services. Nor is there any signs of wharves, bridges, roads or houses built of corrugated iron and timber. Time has stood still for my insignificant village, unknown to world because it hasn't produced any politician, prime minister, or influential figure.
 
Location of Iyaupolo village
 
Forty (40) years after independence, my people in the rural parts of Fergussion Island, Milne Bay province are still living with realities that dates back a thousand years.
 
While we huff and puff about water rationing in Port Moresby, my people in rural Iyaupolo walk a fair distance, daily, for a few pails of water for daily usages. With running water supply at home remaining a distant dream, after all the promises and elections, the only choice my people have is to use the river, to bathe and do their daily washing.
 
We live in a world where we have the ability to be in constant fear that our Samsung Galaxy S6 cellphones and gadgets would run out of battery and we wouldn't be able to find power points to recharge them.

At the same time, we have Papua New Guineans living in rural areas like Iyaupolo village that spend their dark nights with nothing but firewood and kerosene lanterns. The children will have to study under such dim lights, go to sleep and get dressed in the dark, before the break of dawn to head to school that is a good two (2) hours walk. Education is the key to developing any community, but my people hardly make it past Grade 8 because of the distance to the nearest school. I was fortunate, my parents worked in Alotau, the provincial capital of Milne Bay province so I had access to decent education and health services. This is the mid 20th century, but my people are still living in such saddening conditions while even the trees outside NCDC in Port Moresby have colored lights.
 
Bush treks through mud, rocky streams and uneven terrains might sound like an interesting hiking trip for us, but for villagers in western part of Fergussion Island, this is how they travel from one place to another, everyday, as there are hardly any paved roads there. Young school-going students, the elderly and the sick, are forced to go through such rough conditions to get things done. The absence of roads in such remote areas could very well be the deciding factor between life and death if someone falls sick or is injured with the nearest Health Centre a two (2) hours walk or paddle away. Travelling through the forest to go Mapamoiwa station for medical care is really something that the elderly or injured would find quite impossible to accomplish. Maternal and Child Health clinic patrol teams visit once a month.
 
This is the 20th century, but my people are still living in such saddening conditions while even the trees outside NCDC in Port Moresby have colored lights.  So many empty election promises and neglected in so many ways, especially in terms of basic amenities, it is time to rise up and develop my own village.
 
As the first step towards providing clean, running water system for my village, a low cost gravity-fed water system is needed. Then, build a pico and micro-hydro dam that work best for rural communities requiring a small amount of electricity that can  power up my village. The dream of building roads, to connect villages will require manual labor. If the Great Wall of China was built without machines, WE CAN!! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Multi-Level-Marketing of Niche Products in Papua New Guinea: Hop Rocket and JM Ocean Avenue

Introduction Papua New Guinea has some of the poorest social indicators in the world. Despite over 10% increase in the annual GDP (2012: 15.4%, 2013: 16.2%, 2014: 18.7%, 2015: 24.7%), PNG is not significantly progressing on its development indicators (Millennium Development Goals). There is essentially no transformation industry in PNG and the country is highly dependent on imports. Moreover, most people live below the poverty line, wages are low and there is a lack in social protections. According to UNDP (2012) thirty-seven percent of PNG's population live below the national poverty line and PNG is one of the poorest countries in Asia and indeed the world. Low income households in Papua New Guinea typically exhibit low or low-moderate levels of financial competence across all financial domains and activities. Poverty is the direct result of high unemployment rates and low income earning opportunities. Most of the employees in Papua New Guinea are middle to low income earne...
Read more

Writing that makes a difference: an author doing his own thing

JORDAN DEAN Jordan Dean has not only been quietly writing short stories and poems and publishing them using CreateSpace for a while now, he has also been helping other authors do the same thing. So far Jordan has published a collection of short stories and two collections of poetry. A fourth book is nearly complete. His independent approach is inspiring and we hope other Papua New Guinean writers will follow in his footsteps – PF   I’VE BEEN writing poetry and short stories for over a decade now. After completing my primary and secondary education in Alotau, Milne Bay Province, in 2003 I was selected to study Bachelor in Arts, majoring in literature at the University of Papua New Guinea.   My lecturers were the Papua New Guinean literary legends, Professor Steven Winduo, Russell Soaba and Dr Regis Stella. That’s when I started writing about my experiences, reflections, perspectives, feelings, emotions, dreams, aspirations and everyday issues: issues capable of depriv...
Read more