JULIE MOTA KONDI
A contribution to ‘My Walk to Equality’, the first anthology of PNG women’s writing, to be published on International Women’s Day in March next year.
THERE was that certain glow of happiness in her eyes. Where the sunken flesh had been just a covering, it now had a certain smile that lit up her old face.
The merest memory of it always brings tears to my eyes. For she had been through a lot in her life and achieved a lot, but this was the topping on the cake
In 1997 my grandmother, Madeline Mota, graduated from her adult literacy course at Baga village near Tufi in Oro Province.
It was a community program facilitated by the late Dr Cindy Farr, an American linguist involved in the Korafe-Yegha Bible Translation project of the Summer Institute of Linguistics.
My grandmother was in her late sixties with over 30 grandchildren from 11 of her own children but she wanted to achieve a lifelong ambition that had been denied to her many years before.
This was the chance to read and write and the consequent opportunity to write a letter to her children in her own words.
For some reason my grandmother never had a chance to go to school. The prospect was there when schools were built at Tufi in the early 1930s but there was mistrust among parents who would not let their daughters attend. My great-grandfather was one of those people and he would not approve her attendance.
Instead, she grew up in the village spending time with her mother and the other women elders learning the traditional knowledge of our people through, music, dance, craft and visual arts – as well as the secrets of the forest and natural environment, including their spirituality.
When she was in her late teens, my grandfather’s relatives arranged for her marriage to my grandfather.
My grandfather had married twice before and was older than her but she had no choice, it was the decision of the elders. From that marriage there were 11 children born but one was stillborn. Of the 10 who survived, my father was the eldest.
My grandmother spoke a lot of the great changes that were happening in Tufi at that time. My grandfather had the chance to go to school and was employed in various capacities in the development program at the newly established Tufi government station.
When my dad was born he had a humble upbringing at Baga village along with his siblings. He enrolled at Tufi Primary School and won a scholarship to attend Popondetta High School.
While there, he enlisted in the Papua New Guinea Defence Force student cadet program and started a long career in the military. He was among the first Papua New Guineans in the Air Transport Squadron at Igam barracks in Lae.
Following in his footsteps, his younger brother, Anthony, enrolled at Popondetta High School and enlisted in the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary. He began a lifelong career in the police.
My father and Anthony left home as two young men who my grandmother willingly released to serve their country.
During those years of separation, communication became a personal struggle where letters were the only means of staying in contact. However, because she could not read or write, my grandmother relied on others to write and read her letters.
Sometimes there was nobody willing to do this. At other times people misinterpreted what she wanted to say and sometimes people told lies in the letters.
She also relied on grandfather but as he grew older his eyesight began to fail. So she took up the challenge to learn to read and write for both of them.
When the Korafe-Yegha bible project started in Baga village in the 1960s, my grandfather became very much involved in the literacy programs, attending the writers’ workshops and often illustrating some of the books that were published.
During those times, grandmother would silently wish she could one day participate in the training.
Through Dr Cindy Farr's persistence and the encouragement of the Korafe women, my grandmother was able to learn to read and write.
It took a lot of convincing for the men in the village to let the women attend the classes. After all, our Korafe society is very patrilineal.
The classes were held in the morning and at first the men were a bit apprehensive. Many turned up on the first day and, when the morning tea break bell rang, grandfather jokingly remarked that there were a lot of excited men outside the classroom curious to see how their wives’ classes were progressing.
Classes ended at midday so the women could do their chores. Grandfather recalled it was a very challenging time where the roles of men and women were tested.
By the end of the first week, several women pulled out but for those who continued until the completion, the program was a triumphant occasion for them and their husbands and families.
Soon after completing the program my grandparents visited us in Port Moresby and it was the highlight of their news. I was so proud of her achievement because I was her eldest granddaughter and doing my first year at the University of Papua New Guinea.
She had encouraged my father to allow his daughters to reach their highest potential in education and she was a shining example of the motto "education is a lifelong journey".
It was there and then that I began to value adult literacy programs. Many years later I am still developing resource materials and learning aids for adult literacy training in the remoter areas of Papua New Guinea.
Some of the remote groups I have visited to conduct literacy training are Moreguina St Judes Anglican Mothers Union at Cape Rodney in Central Province, Zenag village in the Mumeng District of Morobe Province and Amoreng and Gimi villages, both in West New Britain Province.
My grandmother’s achievement influenced not just me but many others in the family, including my mother. My mother had retired from a very successful and long career in property management to complete her college degree.
She jokingly remarked that she wanted her grandchildren to know that she had completed a college degree. I remember very well because it was when I was in labour with my first child.
I asked her once what it was like to be in a class with young people as old as her own children and she replied that it is the person and their dreams that matter.
Soon after graduating with a Business Administration degree, my mother, along with my dad, were engaged by the Anglican Church to conduct adult literacy training programs in the remote villages of the Jimi Valley and Koinanambe in the highlands.
Today they are very much involved in the Summer Institute of Linguistics Korafe-Yegha Bible translation project started by Dr Cindy Farr and her husband Jim Farr so many years ago.
Dr Farr passed away in 2008 and my grandmother passed away soon after. However, their legacy for our Korafe-Yegah women and indeed for PNG continues.
Now I coordinate a special community inclusive learning education program at Callan Services West New Britain Province.
It’s a volunteer program imparting life skill knowledge to people living with disabilities, unemployed youth and women who want to learn new skills to earn income for their families.
It is a unique program we are trialling to develop a social intervention strategy to address adult literacy issues in the province.
There are many challenges in this work but it is still an interesting job. One I dedicate to my grandmother, Madeline Kitako Mota.