KOPIAGO WOMAN REOPENS AID POST AFTER 15 YEARS

When women have control over their income, they invest in the health, education and well-being of their families. They also tend to reach out to propel other women, men, boys and girls, creating a powerful multiplier effect that benefits all of their respective societies. As the saying goes When women move forward, the world moves with them, this phrase kept ringing in my ears as I boarded my ride to Tari then to Kopiago from Mt Hagen just be-fore Christmas. It is approximately 5 to 6 hours ride to Tari the capital of Hela Province from Mt Hagen. As we traveled my trusted driver, Steven who is also a community leader gave an insight on the situation on the ground. Judging from our conversation, there are many peaceful and loving people like Steven, despite all odds are making a difference in their province. Social Issues have been the main hindrance to development on the ground, he said. Never the less, people like Steven, in their small ways have been keeping the life line of services flowing in and out of the province alive. I got dropped off at Tari police station and got picked up again by another vehicle at around 9 pm, my next leg of journey to Kopiago. Our 3-hour journey from Tari ended were a freshly cut road has stopped. We spent the night at a mission station and during the wee hours of the morning while it was still icy cold my next leg of journey begin on an old road developed by colonizers during the colonial days. The track is used only by a land cruiser once in every three or 4 months. For me, there wasn’t any cruiser to take me to my destination but my trusted walking sticks (foot).

The Author with Julie and her younger brother. It was an adventure in paradise, and I’m always up for it, something a faint hearted individual wouldn’t want to take on if the distance was made known earlier by the host. It wasn’t my story to tell or the journey I have decided to take. I was heading there to see for myself what the community is doing; a community despite all odds has united to rebuild their lives, especially for the health sector. We were heading to Arou, a small village in the Lake Kopiago district of Hela Province. Arou is part of the 6 wards that make up Lake Kopiago local level government and is located in the Koroba-Kopiago District. Situated in the Aoru Valley, is a community that live along the Timbuku and Arou rivers that make up the Strickland River in the Western Province. In fact the LLG shares the border with Western Province (Juha), West Sepik Province (Oksapmin, Oksabil and Telefomin) and Lagaip in Enga province. There are Approximately 22 thousand people all scattered and living in small hamlets across the thick jungle for this LLG alone, like any other rural districts in the country making it difficult for services to reach them. I was told schools age kids start walking at around 5 or 6 am to make it time to their nearest schools. For transportation, they had to walk a day or two to catch a PMV to Tari. Just recently, their local member of Parliament and Minister for Immigration and Border Security Petrus Thomas has come in strongly on developing the road network that connects Kopaigo to Koroba, Which is seen as the main life line for his people in this part of the district. For health services, it is another story. Since Arou in in the middle of both substations (Kopiago and Koroba), It is a day or two by foot to reach the sub health centres either in Lake Kopiago or Koroba stations respectively. So you can only imagine the distance traveled by these people. For a City sleeker like me, it was a daunting experience walking a total of 8 to 9 hours return. An humbling experience, I must add. The best part of the journey is when the locals say, ‘’after that mountain’’ or ‘’straight after that gorge’’ and when you pass that mountain or gorge, another 2 or three hills to climb, that feeling from the guts is always overwhelming.

Basic services have been at a snail’s pace in this part of the region. Educations, health, road infrastructure among others are yet to be fully realized. Adding to the existing difficulties, the rugged terrain has made a lot of public servants leave for other areas. But the people’s faith and trust in God is the reason why they get to see another day, said James an elder in the church. ‘’thanks to the Christian Brotherhood Church (CBC) who have been extending the arm of services in partnership with our local provincial and district governments. In their own little way we are being served. At least they are making a difference in our lives here in Arou and the surrounding communities. But there are still a lot of problems, said James.

The author with Arou Kids. And like any other dominant factors affecting other centres, Health related problems have been a major issue for this peace loving Kopiago people. Infant mortality rate is still high, preventable diseases such as Diarrhea, dysentery and typhoid have been major killers among the younger generation and most recently Malaria. This is according to Janet Kununu, OIC Kopiago Sub Health centre. Amidst the adversaries, and many other issues affecting the Arou people, a women leader has put her foot down to stamp these issues. She is among many other Kopiago women silently working in their local communities and wards extending the arm of services to their people. Julie Alo is not only a shining star among her people, but a leader who has been championing developments in her community. She is adamant, skillful and has the backing of her community. She has worked with over 75 women into both Hela and Southern High-lands provinces, with the never-ending support from developers ExxonMobil and Oil Search Limited. It’s her determination, passion and the love for her people was the main driving force behind the successful reopening of an aid post that was abandoned 15 years ago. The Aid Post was opened on Saturday 22nd December 2018. It was witnessed by community affairs officers from developer ExxonMobil and more than 500 people. ‘’It fully came into realization in 2018. I reopened the clinic because of preventable diseases have been taking lives of many people living within the four council wards. Malaria, Diarrhea among children and infant mortality rate is very high. ‘’A lot of our women die because the health centres are far from where we are. We are in the middle of Koroba and Kopiago stations. Its three to four hours walk each way and a lot of them die along the way’’, she said. ‘’We had to be self-reliant and provide services ourselves and through the hard work of everyone in Arou few basic services have been restored. The aid post for now is small but is already helping a lot of our people. A retired Aid post orderly has been engaged to help and his doing very well’’, added Ms. Alo.

Julie Launching the Aidpost. So you might be wondering how she came about in reopening the Aid post. Well, she is under the banner of the Advancing PNG: Women Leaders Network, A non-government organisation that connects over 63 women from various cultures and professional backgrounds in Papua New Guinea. Every year, ExxonMobil sponsors 1 or 2 women leaders from Papua New Guinea to under-take the Global Women in Management Program. In 2017 Julie Alo with another woman leader from Western Province attended the global women in management training in Washington DC. While attending the training, Julie was nominated by her colleagues from 20 other countries to receive the Ralf Stone Award in recognition of her outstanding work in the community despite the very difficult situation. It was a sum of US$1000. It was further converted to PNG Kina and a K3000 plus was given to Julie towards the end of 2017. ‘’After my return from GWIM training and knowing o the award, I organized the community to contribute to rehabilitate this aid post and K800 was contributed to this community project. Cleaning and timber cutting has already began. Each leader in the community gave a K100 each. It was a community effort. ‘’We couldn’t do much when the community health worker left the facility for greener pastures in Port Moresby. Since then the community had to travel a day or two to reach the nearest health facility,.’’ ‘’Right now we have been given a community health worker from Kopiago sub health centre and this has helped a lot in the day to day operation of the health centre, she said.’’ A delightful Ms. Alo has big plans for the aid post. She says with the current support from everyone and few observers they will be able to archive their bigger plan. ‘’our aim is to get a bigger building by 2020 with a fully furnished equipment’s at least for a community health centre standard. We are also grateful that two community health workers have been promised to be sent to Arou once the facility that includes housing for the community health workers are built. Right now things are looking good and I thank God for the many blessings, said Ms. Alo.

. The Reopened Aid Post. Meantime President of APNG: WLN Seini Fisi’íhoi said that this facility will empower and change lives people living in that LLG. ‘’The aid post will go a long way in supporting women and girls, men and boys too. Such initiatives are good for community building and deserves the protection and support of the people’’, Miss. Fisi’ihoi. END!!