By The Youth Focus Magazine
My name is Tim Douba. I am 34 years old and I come from Ambasi village at the north coast of Oro. I am the last child in the family of nine children. Even before I learnt to talk clearly, I lost my dad. He passed on when I was about one or two years old. So I was raised alone by my mum back in Oro.
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| Tim Douba and his wife [PICTURES SUPPLIED] |
I started my education journey at Sorovi Primary School where I did my grades 1 to 6. However, in 1996, I could not continue on to do my grade 7 due to school fees issue so I left school. In 1999, my third year of being out of school, my mum sent me over to Port Moresby (POM) so I could be with my elder brother. That was my first time to leave mum and go leave away from her. Little did I know that I was leaving her for good, because after two months, I received news that mum had passed away. I went home to bury her and returned to POM. I have never gone back home since then. My brother enrolled me at St. Francis Primary School at Koki in year 2000. I was selected to continue on to Badihagwa Technical Secondary School after I completed my grade 8. However, things started getting tough then. My brother resigned from his job and there was no one else to help me with bus fare. I missed classes and there was less and less focus on my education. This resulted in my name not being on the list of students who made it to grade 11.
After not getting an offer to continue on to grade 11, I turned to the streets. I joined the street boys of Gerehu Stage 4 to Waikele. We would take drugs and homebrew, pick pocket from people and hold up cars. That was where I came to know a criminal named Douglas Papi. Douglas left the gang after he decided to change his life and follow Jesus Christ. He started going to church every Sunday and eventually, he invited me to attend church with him and I did. I attended church every Sunday with Douglas. The pastor of the church was from Simbu.
Douglas found a job as a taxi driver. He drove a taxi for some months before meeting two Japanese who came to the country to set up a business. They recruited Douglas as a Manager. They also gave him a place to stay at Togoba Hill, Downtown. Douglas asked me move in with him at his new home and so I did in 2004. Our church pastor visited us every morning to share the word of God and to pray with us. One day, he asked Douglas to tell him about me. Douglas told him my story and the pastor was moved emotionally. He decided to adopt me as his son and that was when I found a new family. My new family pushed me to continue my education. I redid my grades 9 and 10 through FODE from 2007 to 2008. I continued on to do my grades 11 and 12 at Jubilee Catholic Secondary School. However, I was not selected to any tertiary institution after completion of grade 12. My dream of becoming a lawyer was crushed.
After staying home for a year, in 2012, my new family decided to go to Australia for a holiday. They took me with them. While on holiday there, I met a beautiful young woman whom I fell in love with. I decided to marry her and live there in Australia with her. We had our wedding in 2015. I decided to find a job after the wedding. I went online to search for a job vacancy and found one which I applied for. The vacancy was for the position of Sample Preparation for a geochemistry company called Australian Laboratory Services. I applied and I was successful in securing the job. I made my way from there to the position which I am holding now as a Laboratory Technician.
Amidst my success, I sometimes wish my mum was here to see how far her little boy had come. I wish she was still alive to so she could enjoy the blessings that I have and to see her three grandchildren. I also wish dad did not leave so soon so I would experience the fatherly love that other children are privileged to experience. These thoughts make me all emotional sometimes but it is what it is, I can’t change a thing. All in all, I am grateful because God had a plan for my life so despite whatever I went through, nothing bad happened to me. I always thank God for my journey this far. Struggles in PNG are real. Some people are going through struggles right now at this very moment. But my advice is: have a positive mind all the time, don’t give up on your dreams, be strong, trust yourself and trust God that you will come out of that life one day.