PNG 'Big Men' Should Not Shy Away From Philanthropy Works

Philanthropy according to google is "the desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed especially by the generous donation of money to good causes."

In Melanesian societies it is usually the aspirations of men to ascend the social stratum in the quest to attain the ‘Big Men’ status and its strong persuasive influence. Since the dawn of Melanesia, accumulation of traditional wealth, knowledge and wisdom and the later reapplication of these knowledge and wisdom coupled with the masterful redistribution of wealth amassed have been the means to gaining recognition and influence as a ‘Big Men’.

A leader in the general PNG mindset is someone who is in a position of power and is well resourced to wield influence. Personal wealth is a popular power base from which influence emanates. Wealthy leaders can propagate positive influence by skillfully distributing their personal wealth.

We should not blindly follow the West. The practice in Melanesia and that has been for thousands of years is that wealth is accumulated to be redistributed to gain influence. We may be new to modern conventions and charters of good governance and leadership but we are not new to the art of influencing others to do our bidding.

PNG 'Big Men' should not shy away from philanthropy works. When our hearts are in the right place and our minds' vision is clear, we can't go wrong on our mission to redistribute our honestly attained wealth to propagate positive influences.

A Case Example Of A Melanesian ‘Big Man’ Propagating Positive Influence

Power is the ability to influence others. In Melanesia people, and especially man, aspire to ascend the social stratum to attain the ‘big man’ status and often this comes with amassing of wealth. This wealth is usually amassed to be redistributed to propagate influence. The ‘big man’ status can be a force for good. An example of this power of The Melanesian ‘Big Men’ in propagating positive influence can be seen at work here.

This story is taken from a post by a Ezekiel Peter from Facebook on 10th January 2021.

LAKOLAM PROJECT DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE AGREED FOR JACOB LUKE TO ESTABLISH A SCHOOL IN THEIR VILLAGE

Leaders and representatives of the Sakalin-Potealin tribes namely Titi, Wambil, Margin, Yome and Itale met today with Jacob Luke at Lakolam village, Wabag District, to resolve among others their unanimous agreement to establish a school at their village.

Mr. Luke who is a member of the Titi tribe welcomed the 21 committee members, councilors and other leaders by opening remarks to say that the school is needed in this region to cater for a growing population of children. "We have lost a generation in 20 years since that law and order situation prevalent in this region had destroyed their lives," he added.

"We have to start somewhere to begin building our future society," he told the outdoor meeting. "That is why I want to invest my own earnings in a school that can give your infants from 5-7 years the option to access a school from early childhood," he added.

"A person live for a short while so it's better to plan and give opportunity to the next generation so that they too can pass on better life, skills and knowledge to the next generation and so forth. By doing so we will change our society for a better future," Mr. Luke added.

He told the community to take ownership of the school and invest by sweat and volunteer their labor. "I will have many business and personal partners coming to assist me and I want their aid to contribute develop your children and their generations," he added.

Mr. Luke said the business community will not let him invest in human resource development alone. He said corporate players in delivering community service like Steamships Trading and Digicel have already indicated support. The Enga Provincial Government will assist with some teachers houses and UNICEF will assist with washing facility, kitchen/mess, resting and bathrooms for the early childhood classes.

He challenged the community to take ownership by sending their children and parents do manual works to begin classes by February 2021. The committee agreed unanimously to support Mr. Luke establish the school by mobilising workforce by tomorrow to construct three temporary teacher houses. The three groups for each house was agreed between Titi, Wambil and Magin-Yome.

Leaders expressed total support. Peter Mas of the Wambil tribe thanked Mr. Luke for providing this golden opportunity to their children. He further said Mr. Luke would invest in his own children and spend his life in Lae or abroad but you have thought about us and building such a mansion in our wartorn village. You are God-send he said.

Warao Luai of the Magin Tribe told the gathering his tribe is a mess and a lost generation. All Magin children had reached adulthood without any school he said. We have more 5 to 7 year kids than any other tribe he told the meeting. And the Magin is going to send more kids then any of you tribes he jokingly said.

Titi speakers agreed to give their land at Lakolam to Mr Luke to develop the school and put other projects. "You have our mandate to push us into the Lai River banks" said John Erosol of the Magin tribe at Lakolam.

The meeting ended very successfully and all shared labor and materials to begin works at the new school. The school will enroll early childhood in 2021 and begin the journey.