Lifestyle in Rural Communities and Challenges Encounter.

Papua New Guinea have adapted Vision 2050 as its vision. Given the called by our national leaders, we as a nation and its citizens embrace this vision as our own - within our self (personally), within our family, communities and societies. Thus we believe in Papua New Guinea as a nation that will be 'Smart, Wise, Healthy and Happy Society.'

But the reality indicators are giving us red warnings everyday. Even within our rural communities. The Infrastructure challenges, poor access road, washout footbridges, run down aid post with no staff, teachers not full time teaching in the classroom, poor access to clean water. Law and order issues becoming night mares as smoking of drugs (marijuana) and home made alcohol or wine are now becoming like a norm.

Another thing that is affecting our society is insecurity. This is where we saw school students having little or nothing to do after school thus hanging around smoking, listening to music on Bluetooth speakers or glued to their smart phones. Less employment opportunities offered for our school leavers and graduates resulting in unemployment.

In addition, there are breakdown of institution of social life. These are very important things that cannot easily change especially in the past. Things like having a job for life, marriage for life and a place for life which gives individuals and families a sense of permanency. Jobs are becoming part time, short term or contractual. Marriage which was religiously and socially accepted and recognized as the matrix of community for any society are now being eroded by serial relationships, same sex unions, cohabitation and divorce. Also, the concept of belonging to a village, community or a neighborhood somewhere we call home is slowly disappearing. People travel and move often in search of work, employment and or better health care and education opportunities.

Change has become systematic and consequently we begin to feel that we no longer have control over our lives. Such situation give rise to the degree of indifference to the disadvantages plight among us. We are in a youthful nation that has almost 54% of the country's population under age of 25 thus we have a very energetic, risk takers and yet fragile opportunities lying ahead.

As Malum Nalu said, there are tools for development readily available such as the communication towers and internet. We should encourage our young people to participate in the journey of constructive and collaborative society. There should be some level of equal playing field were our citizen can have an opportunity to participate in the economic growth and development of Papua New Guinea.

"We are a nation with a 50,000 years history. Rich cultures and divers traditions and languages. Our Ancestors were custodians to the knowledge that are now explain to the Western Science.  Our history didn't started 40 years ago or 200 years ago when missionaries  arrived." Scott Waide.

Revolutionary, yet extraordinary about rediscovering our self as young men and women that our nation needed most this time, we must reclaim the belief that the source of action and responsibility lies within ourselves. Our Papua New Guinea Ways compel us, to seek a new way of engaging with our people's struggle for meaning and purpose because we are not the product of forces beyond our control.