The people of Nebilyer Valley in the Western Highlands Province celebrated their 13th Anniversary of peace keeping on Saturday, 26 November.
An association called ‘Koma Pang’ or ‘Peace’ was formed in 2003 to symbolise peace in this remote part of Papua New Guinea.
A double classroom was also opened at a location that used to be their battle field in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Through Koma Pang Association, the people of Nebilyer Valley are beginning to see services.
The recent development is the upgrading of Kuntmung Elementary school.
On Saturday, the Western Highlands Provincial Education Board announced that the school will be a bottom-up-primary School starting next year.
Nebilyer valley is less than 20 minutes drive to Mt Hagen City. It used to be a fighting zone of the surrounding tribes and clans.
While in the middle of the fight, the popular documentary was filmed, ‘the Black Harvest’.
The fight lasted for 30 years and a peace ceremony was held in 2003. That was when Koma Pang Association was formed.
The people in that area believed they were ignored for too long, because of the tribal fight and no government services reaching them.
That has forced them to use the association to get funding from donors to bring services.
Australian Aid through ‘Strongim Pipol Strongim Neisen’ has come to their aid with funding of over K90,000 to build classrooms.
The double classroom and another single classroom were built in their fighting zone: both were opened on Saturday.
This was to symbolise the end of war, and the start of a new era to embrace development and services.
