Rural treat in Mendi

Organizer and owner of Heli Solutions Ltd, Captain James Pima kicking starting the grand final match for the Heli Solution’s off season Cup in Mendi on Monday.

(L-R) Captain Pima and fellow community sponsors and supporters watching the grand final match on Monday in Yaken, Lower Mendi, S.H.P.

One of the Grand Finalist of the Heli Solution’s off season rugby league, HKB Knights taking a breather during half time.





By way of appreciating community participation, community leaders were given the chance to present awards to distinguished players of the season. Above is a village councilor awarding a trophy to the player of the season.



 

In most part of Papua New Guinea, the festive season is a great time to take that trip home to the village and enjoy the company of your tribesmen and giving your children that opportunity to get in touch with their roots.

For a community in Lower Mendi, it was nothing different.

Family interactions and reconnections has been a major part of the festive gatherings. Families would travel far and wide from within the country and outside to come back home to touch base.

However, this community in Undiri One in Lower Mendi, in the Southern Highlands Province, has taken advantage of the festive season’s gathering and had organized a friendly off season rugby league match.

From Lumbi village to Endoa, the communities had united for the second time on Monday to see the best of the Heli Solutions off season rugby league cup.

For these communities and the rest of the surrounding villages, government services are hardly known and most of the vital services are accessible via Mt Hagen in the Western Highlands Province.

Nevertheless, the Undiri area is one that has taken a stand and has recognised rugby league as a way forward for the community. 

Community members and leaders ranging from elites in the city to the village leaders and business houses contributed into creating an off season rugby match which included more than 20 villages in Mendi.

Mendi being the capital of Southern Highlands Province, the province is the highest populated province in the country due to it’s’ population density (54.4/sq. mi) according to the 2012 census.

Despite changes in the government for the past years, Mendi has seen little change in the recent past with rising law and order issues.

Since 2014, the Undiri community gathered its’ lads to take part in a game of footy by keeping themselves away from the negative behavior that is tarnishing the province.

Organizer of the off season league and owner of Heli Solutions, Captain James Pima, on the second occasion of the rugby season said the aim of the games was to bring unity and a sense of belonging to the community.

“we have decided with all the; community leaders, elites, business owners , church groups, mothers and the youths to come together and take part in something that we can all take ownership of.”

The Heli Solutions cup is into its second term in the running and after the first off season from 2014-2015, eight teams from around the neighboring villages had taken part.

This year’s off season (2015-2016), the teams had increased to 10 teams which each teams had a B Grade and an A Grade each.

According to the organizer, the off season league is aimed at bringing peace and togetherness in the area and also to allow government service to flow in without disturbance.

“Before you expect to see change, you have to change yourself first. Our community is a large one with many youths engaging in various bad activities which we are not proud of. We want to change that and this game is to create a pathway that will enable them to have that sense of responsibility and belonging.”

This year, a total of K33, 000 in prize money was presented to the 20 teams (A Grade and B Grade) apart from the running costs.

“We had bus owners, trade store owners, and construction company owners to service station owners in the community chipping in for the various teams. The support that the community gave shows the efforts of a community that is willing to work together for a positive course and we will not stop here,” Said Pima.

The grand final on Monday in Yaken Village, was a show that had attracted people from other districts such as Kagua-Erave, Nipa, Ialibu- Pangia and the Western Highlands Province.

Mr. Pima explained that the attraction of the game was not just because of the quality of the game that was displayed but the partnership of the community members and the support they had given to the game.

“The game itself has not only brought a change in the lives of the youths but also brought spin off opportunities for the marketing mothers in the community. Due to the hype of the game, business houses and mothers at the market had been able to make good sales.”

Unlike the first season, this year we were able to gain more support from the community not because of anything but because the game had brought about a change in the lives of many of the guys in the village who had pretty much nothing to do during the holidays. Also, we had made it very clear that use of alcohol and drug abuse, rowdy behaviour and lack of discipline would not be tolerated and the boys made it their business to play clean in the field.

“For the first time, we had manage to have had a clean game on the field with all the players taking full responsibility and living up to the standards of the game and this was the first of its kind,”

This year’s A Grade winner’s walked away with more than K5000 in cash and prices.

Upon presenting the trophies, Pima said the game would still continue during the off seasons as he was impressed with the level of the game that was played.

He said a well organised community is one where investments would flow in because the community can be able to adapt to changes.

The off season match was concluded as a success on Monday with Bush Karinz Constructed Ltd Kenya Amesi taking up the top prize in the A Grade match against Hongu Kambe Payako Ltd Kame Ame Knights on a 8-7 one point difference during a 20 minute extra time match.



Yaken Village’s Bush Karinz Ltd Kenya AmesiiA Grade team who won the Heli Solution’s off season’s cup celebrating their win with family members and supporters.



Heli Solution’s staff comprising of pilots engineers and ground stuff also showed their support by being present at the games grand final match on Monday.