My Mother's Story (Mercia Paliou)

On this International Woman's Day, I wanted to share my mum's story on her journey and her aspirations in life. To also give us a glimpse into what life was like back then and what they did to build the young PNG nation. I would not be where I am today if she did not first embark on her own journey of education, career marriage and life.

 My mother's journey began in her village of Dogur in the Dagua LLG of the East Sepik Province. She was born on the 6th of September 1947. She already had 5 older siblings and she was the 5th born with 2 others after her. Born to parents who were subsistence farmers their lives revolve around fishing, gardening, hunting and gathering food to feed the family. A typical village day would consist of women going to the garden, to work on their vegetables patches whilst the man would go hunting/setting traps for bandicoot or fishing in the small creeks, rivers or the sea. Their stable diet is sago so each family has their own sago plots in the swamp. Working at the sago plots requires the input of the whole family and usually it takes a day. The men would cut the sago and then scrap the inside of the sago whilst the woman would wash the sago and the starch flows into baskets made out of palms. Two days of each week is dedicated as council days and that is when the whole village cleans the road, cuts grass plant flowers and ensure that the village is clean and tidy. The rest of the days the villagers can attend to their own needs.

 The Catholic Church SVD order had established a mission station at Dogur with a school and a hospital to serve the people within its vicinity. In 1956 when mum reached the age of 9 years old, she started her grade 1 at the mission school. From grades 1-3 they were taught by the local catechetic and from grades 4-6 she was taught by the foreign nuns mostly of Polish decent. Because her parents could not afford clothes for her and other school stuff, she works for the nuns every Monday so that they can sew her clothes and also give her soap and salt for them to use at home. So, at an early age she works 1 day of the week and then goes to school for the other 4 days. The nuns would sew her elastic shirts and blouse so that she can have clothes to wear to school. Her chores would include washing their clothes and ironing them doing dishes in the kitchen and helping clean around the convent. She repeated grade 6 twice because there was an outbreak of polio in the area so the school was closed for almost a year. By the time she completed grade 6 it was 1962 she was offered to take up nursing at the Dagua hospital to under train the nuns there. She however had other ideas and wanted to see the rest of PNG so she wrote a letter to the bishop asking him if she would continue her grade 7 at the Wirui Catholic Mission in Wewak as it was an establish high school for girls. This would be the start of the Mercy Collage or Yarapos High School which later relocated to its current location at Yarapi.

 The Dagua Highway was newly created and there was still work on certain parts of the highway which was inaccessible. However, Dogua Catholic Mission had an airstrip where the church uses to fly the priest and the nuns to and from Wewak. So, in 1963 mum packed her few belongings in a small suitcase with her mum and small sister and waited at the airstrip for the bishop’s plane to arrive and take her to Wewak. After 2 days of waiting the plane came and she boarded it and came to Wewak. At Wewak she stayed at the convent and attend the school at Wirui. Towards the end of grade 7, there was a recruitment drive for welfare officer and someone came around to their school conducting test for anyone interested to be a welfare officer. She decided to take that test and so by early 1964 whilst at holiday in the village a letter came to her via the mission station advising her that she successfully passed her test and was invited to go to the Iyoma Welfare training Centre in Milne Bay Province run by the then late Dame Alice Wedega affectionately known to mum and the girls as aunty Alice.

 So again, she got on the church plane came to Wewak and then got on a commercial plane TAA to fly to Pom for 2 days where she was housed at Kaugere welfare house and from there onto Alotau and to Aiyoma. For 6 months she undergoes training on women's welfare basic health care and domestic chores cooking baking sewing and taking care of household and families. Those trainings were conducted by Dame Alice Wedega and Janet Harris. During that time, they were paid an allowance of 1 pond and 5 shillings. There was a total of 10 girls from around PNG and their batch was the pioneer of the Welfare program.

 After 6 months they graduated with a certificate in welfare and were sent back to their provinces. Mum came back to Wewak and was attached as a welfare officer with the welfare office in Wewak located at the council chambers at Dagua Market. Here they conducted adult education courses for villages taking them around Wewak to show them development and give them a glimpse into what the future would be like for PNG. They started women's clubs at various government compounds (police, health) for house wives teaching them sewing, baking, cooking skills and how to keep their homes clean. Most times they are also out patrolling in the villages staring women's clubs in the villages. They travel as far as Wuvulu/Aua and up the Sepik River as far as the black waters and also across to Bewani in the West Sepik Province.

 After 3 years of work whilst on patrol in Bewani she met this Manus gentleman and got married to my faither who was an apprentice attached to the public works department (PWD) under the native government as it was referred to in those days. Dad also travelled a lot all over Wewak building the various government stations around the East Sepik Province and whilst he was at Bewani building the government station there met mum whilst she was on patrol for her welfare duties.

 From there their love story began and my eldest brother was born and whilst being single was easy getting a home for a family was a bit difficult so mum had to stay in the village for 6 months whilst dad tried to find a home for his new family. This was all still in the pre-colonial days. Whilst there she overstayed her work days so she was asked to resigned from public service. After 6 months dad finally got them a home in Wewak and moved mum and my brother from the village to their new home at government compound in Wewak.

 As ambitious as she was mum again went looking for work and found a job with an Australian Woman (Ms June Butcher) running her shipping agency call East West Agency in Wewak. Here she did clerical and admin work with Ms June until Ms Butcher closed office and moved back to Australia.

 She then went to work with Mr Norm Martin who use to own Wewak Bakery and then in 1975 after the elections and after I was born mum started with George Seeto and Company and worked with them till her retirement on the 4th of February 2020.

 During those times mum and dad have led very active lives with the Assemblies of God Church in Wewak as well as in PNG. She was a secretary to the board under the pre-colonial days and then a Sunday School Superintendent and also was President of the Women's Ministry in the church for a couple of years. They helped pioneer the youth ministry and the women’s ministry in the church. She is very passionate about woman's affairs and towards her golden years the prayer ministry. She has 5 children, 14 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren and still very active.

  Towards the end of our conversation, I asked her what her thoughts  she wants to share with me as woman in the work force juggling career and family.

 She said Honesty and Faithfulness are very important virtues in life whether it is marriage or career. If you hold them well it will take you are long way. She talked about the importance of loving God and having the fear of the Lord, it will take you to a good place and to a good life. She stressed that it is important to have strong Christian principals because they build in good work ethics that will help you both at work and also at home. She added be wise in how you utilise your time and be honest in your work and be faithful and committed to the things you do. God is the basis of everything we do and the strength and source of our lives. Women love your husbands, love your children and bring them up well.

 I have seen life I have seen this nation come to the place where it is, and I want to see a great future for my grandchildren. The ball is now in your court you children will decide where to take this nation to. As mothers and women, you hold the pillar of this nation.

 Mum is 77 years old and still active still strong still doing the things she loves. Cooking, cleaning the house and off course praying.