Tribute to the late Idau Nafuki (nee Arua)

On behalf of my parents Retired Reverend Rei Lahui-Ako, my mother, Kari, and my family, I would like to take this opportunity to convey our heartfelt sorrow and condolences to Reverand Allan Nafuki and his family, for the loss of their beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, Mrs Idau Arua.

Rev. Nafuki of Vanuatu and late Idau Arua of Hanuabada, met during their time as students at the Rarongo Theological College in the 1970s, during the same time my parents had heed God's call too, to train there as his messengers. Both met, fell in love, and got married...with the good Reverand bringing his bride home to Vanuatu to live.

It is always a tragedy to die in a foreign land...however, the late Idau chose to follow her husband to his country to share his life there. That ended a couple of days ago, after nearly more than 30 years of love, laughter, hardships, trials and tribulations ... when God All Mighty called her to be with HIM forever.

"REST IN PEACE"

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Above photo shows Allan Nafuki (left), Rei Lahui (middle) and Idau Arua (right) during a happy "social night" gathering in Rarongo, East New Britain Province, PNG, 1973.

Educating Social Transformation through Outreach and Evangelism

The title of this discusion is the theme of the Roundtable meeting that was convened at the Poreporena-Laurabada United Church last night (Wednesday, 24 March, 2010) by the Social Concern and Justice Committee of the congregration.
The Meeting was attended by heads of sporting organisations in the village (although only Rugby was represented by yours truly and CEO-Rugby Central Foundation, Jack Kariko. League, Volleyball, Netball, and cricket did not attend), village councillors, clan elders, church reps, and community leaders.
The main purpose of the meeting was to gather information and data and identify the social problems that are now existing in our society today, particularly in the Laurabada side of the village - and then provide solutions to the problems of alcoholism, gambling, prostitution, unemployment, vagrancy, non-attendance at school by students; and simply living disciplined lives and respecting and adhering to the rule of law in the village.
Jack Kariko, President of Motuans Rugby Union Club and CEO-Rugby Central Foundation had the previlege of being invited to discuss the club's and Foundation's aspirations and goals for the future. (Please refer to my first blog on this).
The SCJ Committee has now been tasked to conduct further consultations with the greater community before an Action Plan is drafted for implementation in the village. However, there were three (3) main points agreed to by the meeting which will be immediately implemented from today onwards:
1. Curfew will come into force for all school-age children to be indoors by 8pm every school day;
2. Voluntary cleanup of the village by all families; and
3. Two meetings to be held in the village square to further discuss this issue.
Also discussed was the entry into the village (not by genuine visitors) but by those entering to buy homebrew, drugs, and picking up girls. These particular issues will be discussed in detail in upcoming meetings. However, the possibility of banning all non-Hanuabadans on illegal business in the village was sounded out and supported.
At this juncture, I raised concerns that it was the mandated responsibility of the Committee to consult widely before an Action Plan can be raised because convening only two meetings before drafting of the Action Plan means that a majority of the stakeholders will not have been consulted and therefore will not own this initiative. HOwever, it was resolved for the three resolutions to be implemented.
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Assessments:

We Hanuabadans (the biggest village in PNG, population 9,000 plus; unemployment rate: 90%, natural resources - nil!) are now at the cross-road of prosperty OR poverty. The fact that only 0.001% of all University graduands per year are Hanuabadans portray the dillema we are in. It is therefore in our interest to consolidate our future through education or else we will continue to be marginalized in a land we call our own. We must make all haste to come up with a workable strategy to ensure that:

1. All children ATTEND schools (and not loiter outside the school grounds before returning home at 3pm every day;
2. All school teachers MUST be at their stations to teach!
3. ALL parents MUST ensure that their children attend school;
4. All parents MUST assist their children with their homework and ensure that they do their homework NOT loiter around the village;
5. It is the responsibility of all villagers to ensure that our children go the school;
6. Motu-Koitabu Assembly ensure that ALL children must GO to school and support them all the way to National High Schools and Uni.

My fear is that in 20 years time, if we do not address this issue, 99.99% unemployment awaits us! And with this, will come all the social ills under the sun turning my beautiful village into another city slum!
It was said that we Hanuabadans saw the light first (with the arrival of the first LMS missionaries in the 1870s. It would seem that from this light, we are moving fast into darkness!

The SCJ committee will be convening two meetings in the village squares in the next two weeks. I urge all concerned Hanuabadans to attend these meetings and air your views on how these problems can be looked at and rectified. For the vara-varas living abroad, I would appreciate your comments and assistance on this too.

n saying so, I also understand and appreciate the fact the social problems that continue to plague Hanuabada cannot be resolve by tomorrow as problems of overcrowding in houses, communal living, etc, must be taken into consideration. Still, it is a problem and must be solved.

It is therefore my humble plea to everyone (even non-Hanuabadans who have the heart for social development in PNG, etc) to help us save our village from social disintegration.

God save Hanuabada,

LA

Need to have a Motuan Rugby team at the Bava Park

Rugby league has always been the No.1 game in PNG, particularly so among the Motu-Koitabuan villages in NCD and the Central Province of PNG, especially, Hanuabada, where it is said that the "oval shape ball was first caught when it was kicked from Australia, and from where it was then kicked to all parts of PNG." to date, this ball has been kicked away forever, and the Hanuabadans are yet to produce another home-grown PNG Kumul ever since Philip Boge took off his Kumul "Fullback" jersey in 1998. Still, thanks to the Peters, Extons, and Bonds, other Hanuabadans of mix-parentage have taken on this mantle and carried this honor in the current Kumul team.

Our very own Hanuabada Hawks RLC, which I had the honor and pride of playing in in 1993, then later on in 1997/98 is not doing too well to make us all realize this dream. Even the Kumuls production lines at nearby Porebada and Boera villages have also stopped producing their best since Dairi Kovae came back from the Newcastle Knights and Kini Tani retired in the late 1990s. So where then, do we, Motu-Koitabuans stand in this spectrum? Do we blindly follow our hearts desire and continue on to play the game we love, despite knowing very well that the opportunities to play League at the international level is diminishing fast (or gone forever?)? Or do we attempt other alternatives which are staring at us right in our faces? We only have to look at our relatives in Vabukori village to realise how the game of Volleyball can unite!

I for one, personally think that the time has come for a change of focus on League. We Motu-Koitabuans must now seriously consider the opportunities available to us in the game of RUGBY (union) to now make our mark now in this sport! Yes, we did have persons who reprepsented PNG in Rugby in the past, although only four come to mind - Oala Reva (1970s), Morea Kauna, Dai Boe and John Kabua (1990s), and currently, a host of junior Pukpuks. But this players did not use a Motu-Koitabuan team (like the Hanuabada Hawks RLC or Porebada DCA RLC) as a vehicle to make it to the top. No. They joined other city Rugby clubs to fulfill their heart's desire. Today, there continues to remain a lack of interest (or fear of the unknown) when the topic of Rugby is brought up, despite knowing very well that others now dominate in League.

In order to change this mindset and seek the other alternative (amidst a host of criticisms, etc, from our Motu-Koitabuan peers, even one from a former Pukpuk who bluntly told us that such a program would not be sustained, etc, etc, etc and the lack of support from our beloved MK Assembly), we decided to put the money where our mouth was. So in October 2009, former Port Moresby Brothers RFUC strongman Jack Kariko and I registered a not-for-profit organization, called the Rugby Central Foundation (which denotes the centre of rugby development in PNG) - to pursue our dream of promoting "the game played in Heaven" in PNG, particularly, among the Motu-Koitabuan villages. We chose Hanuabada village as the starting point simply because it has the numbers. In fact, in 2009, this village boastednearly 700 players (694 to be exact) between the ages of 14-28. Unfortunately, of these, only 50 make it into the Hanuabada Hawks RLC each year to play in the tough Port Moresby League comp, while the rest are left to fend for themselves playing social League in Philip Boge's League comp, or if not, loaf around the village doing nothing.

So we got together a core group of individuals to start this program. First, we convened two meetings: one at Elevala and another one at Hanuabada to gauge the interest of the youths and to see whether or not we could sustain such a revolutionary program. Persons who were instrumental in gathering the boys together were former Pukpuk John Kabua, church elders Puka Tau and Erue morea, current Hawks RLC half-back Sere Hens, and Kone Sharks Rugby player, Rarua Alei. Together with current junior Pukpuks Alex Ikupu, Ikupu Tamarua, Boe Vaieke, and Raphael Martin and others, we comence our rugby development program at Hanuabada.

We were also assisted greatly by Sidney Wesley and Frankie Makanuey, both top class coaches of the premier Defence and Wanderers sides. These men spent a couple of weeks to impart alot of their experience and knowledge to a group of starry-eyed kids, most of whom had never been a lineout or maul - but all came because of the opportunity to learn something new, or simply, were league outcasts. Former Pukpuk Dai Boe also ran a few training sessions. We also had one unlikely trainer in Kavieng-based Pukpuk Eremas Simba in November 2009. By the grace of God, the son of the current Misi-Tauna at Metoreia, Terence Kedea, a former PNG international himself, was on hand to take over the coaching responsibilities on a full time basis. Into the management fold also came Reverend Nou Douna, current minister with the Laurabada congregation of the Poreporena circuit. Him, we entrusted the spiritual development of the team and gave him the title of "Chaplain". Chaplain Douna then led the devotion and prayer after every training sessions.

By December 2009, our numbers had increased to 30 (from the original 10) and continued to grow. Membership now included the brothers Nou and Lari Asigau of Gabagaba village, and David Bau of Papa. these were Rugby boys who brought with them their experience. We now had the semblance of a team. To keep to our objective under Rugby Central Foundation, we called the club, the MOTUANS RUGBY UNION CLUB with the motto: "Egu Dirava, Egu Hanua"

After a couple of 7s and 10 a-side trial matches among ourselves, the Motuans first baptism of fire came int he form of the Kone Sharks Rugby 7s tournament on 18 January, 2010. We fielded a senior and a Under-20s side. While the U20s gained the much needed match experience during the tournament, the senior Motuans did themselves proud on the day by bowing out of the Cup semi-finals play-offs, thereby, earning themselves a place in the 2011 tournament.

In the first week of February, 2010, livewire Pukpuk 5/8 Douglas Guise ran a weeklong rugby clinic at the Hubert Murray Stadium for the Motuans. Then on Saturday, 6 February, 2010, the Motuans played their first-ever 15s a-side trial match at the Bava Park against a development side from the Port Moresby Brothers RFUC, beating the Brethrens 47-38. the Brethrens were then invited back to Hanuabada where they were hosted to a feed and entertainment. The following week, the Motuans took on the might of a fully-fledged Defence RUC (DRUC) side and drew, 15-15. From this match, 5 players were recruited by DRUC to trial for spots in their 2010 side. Of these five, Danny Mea and Lakani John opted out, while Sale Doura, John Sukope and Aloysius Taurina have made an impact with DRUC during the POM RFU Pre-season competition and are set to play a big part in the DRUC's 2010 campaign. Allan Gabutu and a couple of others have also been accepted to play in the DRUC junior grades this season.

After the DRUC trial, the program immediately went into recess. It was also the aim of the Motuans management to get as many players as possible aligned to existing clubs in POM RFU simply to learn as much as they can in RUGBY and to develop themselves as Rugby players. To date, there are now : 8 Motuans playing with DRUC and 7 with Kone Sharks RUC. It is our hope that when we regroup in October 2010, we should have up to 20 hardened rugby players to form the core of our programs. Under this program, we will also be bidding for a place in the 2011 POM RFU competition. If this bid is successful, then all these Motuan players (and others who hear our call) will form the core of the innaugural MOTU-KOITABU Rugby side to play AS A CLUB in 2011.

When the program resumes in October this year, the Motuans will make a tour abroad to raise funds for its entry into POM RFU in season 2011. We will also host a Motu-Koitabu Rugby 7s tournament in November, 2010, participate in the Kone Sharks Rugby 7s tournament; and play a home-and-away series with Lalaura Rugby (tbc).

With this short brief, I would like to take this opportunity to ask all loyal Motu-Koitabu supports of rugby to put all your support behind the MOTUANS RUC and its rugby development programs in the villages and we hope to see you all shouting your voice off for the MOtuans at the Bava in season 2011, as we play for God and our homeland!

LA