It is rare these days to find a genuine person or a care giver. Stories of good Samaritans have all become nothing but myths. What was previously accepted as giving a helpful hand at no cost to one who needed it the most has changed over the years.

Someone turned out to prove all these wrong and bring to reality proving that people with good hearts do exist and accept people for who they are despite flaws and short comings.

From Longokave in Mendi Southern Highlands Province, Rebecca Lero is known famously as Mama Rebecca in her community and is a living proof of a charity care giver.

I met Mama Rebecca for the first time when she attended the Grassroots Peacebuilders Action Team (GPAT) Mid-term participatory at the Melanesian institute in Goroka Eastern Highlands.

Watching her from a distance as to how she attentively responded to the younger participants and the others was intriguing I had to talk to her.

Mama Rebecca had a positive energy toward everything and was always so open in her discussion and was eager to learn everything that was being taught during the week long process.

At 50 years of age, she was previously married to an Ambassador who has now passed on 20 years ago leaving her to raise their four daughters alone.

Mama Rebecca was chosen to attend the GPAT process alongside 9 other participants from Southern Highlands and 10 from Hela province who were part of the UN-Women funded Gender and Youth Peace Initiative (GYPI) project that is ongoing in both provinces.

“I was all hands up when I first heard about this project and was excited to be a part of it. I have taken part in various projects and workshops by other donor organizations so I wanted to be a part of this one too,” Mama Rebecca gushed.

Since 2006 Mama Rebecca has reached 15 years of charity work following the interest she had to look after those rejected or in need.

An elderly father figure took her in to work at the Youth Guest house and she wondered what she will do and where will she go but her desire towards charity work was undeniable.

The story of how she started was from pure independence and sweat and her story is one that’s worth sharing. “I sold a pig for 800, another one for 700 and a billum wear for 400. I also received 1500 form chicken sales and I set off to hire the car and bought timber and kunai to build the first Kunai house in 2010 which was3 ft high 12m long to house the children and the women.”

“Fr Don from the Church donated12 mattresses, blanket and bed sheets, pillow casesand Sr Rose donated 2 tables and blackboard and so I gathered some orphan children and HIV AIDS women victims.”

The village ridiculed her saying how are you going to look after these children and women, your husband is dead and you do not have any land.

One by one more children came in and sorcery-accused women also took refuge in what they dubbed the St Francis Care Home which fast forward a couple of years later is ****

Despite having four fully grown daughters, Mama Rebecca also insists that she has three sons. Knowing her, one would know that they were not biologically her children but ones she took in and raised up.

“I have 3 sons. One of them is an orphaned boy whose mother beheaded the father and lost her eyes due to their fighting. I took him in as a baby in 2006 and breast friend him and he is doing gr 8 now.

“The other was so malnourished and was near dying with bulging eyes and was suffering fromTB. His father was from Popondetta and his mother was 14 year old young girl.

“I took him in and cared for him and named him Pumin- meaning life come back and he is in grade 4 now.”

“I endured much pain from the other who was a “jungle boy. I know that because of him but I will receive my pay up in heaven, wiped his nose, changed his soiled clothes, and changed his diapers gave him the best of everything and told my children that this is Jesus we are looking after and you will surely be rewarded up in heaven too.”

“I honestly do not think of my children much because my life revolves now around these ones and sometimes my daughters’air out their frustration. I tell them that I have looked after you since birth and now that you have completed your education and are married so when I come down to Port Moresby I will come see you but when I am here, I am with my children.”

Being a devout Christian and in the Catholic faith she backed her faith by saying that If she steered away from the bad and welcomed only the good then it is not the cross that she is carrying so she still presses on.

“I had no partner, by 2012 there were six children to care for as well as problem mothers and God gave me a partner who was younger than me. He paid bride price and we had a church wedding.”

He was great with the kids as well as with handiwork and renovated the semi-permanent Kunai house to a permanent houseand through time we put to rest some of the HIV AIDS victims that were staying with us.

Around 2013 the old house was replaced with a new house thank fully with a contribution of K50 000 from then SHP governor, Francis Awesa.

“I gave it to the bishop for safekeeping and to give me only when I needed it. We also built a new house kunai for the accused mothers and a permanent house for the children.

“We also built a training hall and a kitchen house and was donated by former Mendi hospital CEO got 20 chairs for me at Papindo and that was when I realized that they had interest to support me so I pushed onward”

When the community talks about sorcery and payback, I am always at the frontline to defend the victims and try to mitigate some form of peace.

“When they say this is a sorcery mother and bring her in, she does not rip my heart out. I give her the love and healinghas taken place.”

“They help to do the chores such as washing the children’s clothes, making the gardens, tending to the animals, another makes ice-blocks and sells and uses the profit to buy greens for the children. We pitch in to help one another.”

Due to her diligent human rights actions and defences Mama Rebecca was appointed to chair the Human Rights Defenders Committee for Southern Highlands and was awarded by the American Ambassador as a human rights defender.

“I imagine that the reward that I get on Earth is far less than what I will get in heaven and so I press on.”

Despite wandering about their meals and other provisions for her care home, her faith never subdues and God always provides for them. She in return share Jesus’s love with them and bringsthem to the church as often as she can.

No matter how rebellious they tend to get, especially the boys, she reminds them that Jesus will changethem one day and take those bad deeds away from them one day

Our bishop at our diocese reminds the people there that when I go to visit, I must not go out empty handed. The catholic mission diocese at Mendi provides full support and that is why we are still going strong.

When speaking about the GPAT program she attended and the GYPI project that was ongoing in her community, Mama Rebecca replied unreservedly.

“This training that I have received during the one week has really won my heart. In my line of work, most of the children or women I bring to take care of come as a result of some sort of conflict that forces them out from belonging.”

“I have attended Classic Life trainings, Who am I trainings, HIV/AIDS awareness and Sanguma awareness and have gathered some knowledge but this training has really complemented me well.”

“I am glad I attended this process because unlike others, this was done in pidgin and I understood thoroughly everything. Most of the things we just talk about with no form of action and in Longokave I was the only one that attended such trainings but the GYPI project and GPAT process has won the youths over too which makes me so happy.”

Determined as she was to contribute some form of peace to her community, Mama Rebecca gathered the youths of Longokave who attended and reflected back on whatshe learnt from this training and told them to change their behaviour and attitude and that we have to put to action what theyhave learnt in their community.

“I am concerned especially about the youth because they do not realize the importance of inner peace and always act out on their initial instincts but I am pretty sure most of them will change their mindsets after this process.

“This training to create peace and settle the community and help the community to work hand in hand and bring the project in has never to our community before and this is the first time.”

“With this training I am hoping to cut back the risks identified in my community, help the vulnerable groups and taking culture into consideration, I know with support from the youth, we will change our community.”

In ending she said, “Its not because there is no peace that development is lacking in Southern Highlands but because there is no development. I know from this training I am well equipped to be a grassroots peacebuilder.”

With a look of determination on her face with every word she spoke, it is no doubt that this pawa meri, Mama Rebecca will definitely make an impact in people’s lives.