Goroka villagers refuse to sit and wait for help

By ZACHERY PER
A GROUP of villagers in Goroka, Eastern Highlands, have taken up the responsibility of cleaning up a road in their area as part of a self-help project.
They are from six Ifiufa villages who began clearing the Akameku feeder road this week.
Project organiser Lutie Mateo started with the Gahukuzuha and Notofana villages along the Highlands Highway up to the Kabiufa Adventist Secondary School.
Mateo plans to bring together people in the six villages of upper Ifiufa to improve infrastructure such as roads, health centres, schools and villages.
“I initiated this to educate everyone to be responsible and law-abiding citizens and to work on such initiatives to improve villages and our standard of living,” he said.
“Our fathers had been waiting for the Government to come to the village and help them but to no avail.
“We have been waiting and our children will continue waiting.” The six villages are Suka Pas, Lakomiufa, Konoblacks, Gori, Gepa and Yatex.
George Mosinakave, of Lakomiufa, said they started off with 86 people clearing the road and this week and the number had grown to around 300.
“We embrace the concept to do community work to help improve our village and living conditions to focus on getting services from the Government and private organisations,” he said.