Darrel Lendon

Welcome to one of the last frontiers in Papua New Guinea; Kandep, a place only whispered on Facebook, shrouded in tales of Vikings and Warlords. Yet beyond these stereotypes that we see on social media, lies an unseen paradise nestled amidst the swamplands. According to a famous traditional myth, Kandep is where the legendary figure Opone settled. The myth begins with a man named Andaita and his sister, Itame, who had an incestuous relationship and bore three children. The firstborn was Tita, who came from the west and settled in the Kiunga area near the Ok Tedi Mine Site. It was there that Tita's wife gave birth to a son named Hela. Hela, in turn, fathered four sons: Hela Kuli (Huli), Hela Opone (Obena), Hela Dugube, and Hela Duna. These four brothers shared a house until the day Opone and Kuli discovered that their brothers were consuming human flesh. In that instant, they began speaking different languages and separated. Dugube settled on the Papuan Plateau, Duna at Lake Kopiag

I glanced at my watch, 2:49 am it read. We were passing through Watabung in Daulo, EHP when a motorbike overtook us on the Highlands Highway, leaving me puzzled about its presence in such an unexpected place at an unexpected hour. Little did I know that the rider was heading home to Wapenamanda from Lae. But it wasn’t about the destination, it was all about the journey itself. Traveling the Highlands Highway can be an intimidating journey, with tales of roadblocks and criminal elements in notorious hotspots like Barola and Kombri. And with the deteriorating road conditions, it can be a menacing journey to embark on.  As the sun slowly set on a Sunday afternoon, 24 students from Unitech embarked on a mission to raise educational awareness in Enga province. The peer-to-peer Career Expo, organized by the Enga Student and Staff Association under President Terence Shem and Female Vice President Alice Pokon's leadership, was an opportunity to make a difference for students studying i

Gentlemen, we cannot allow ourselves to be passive bystanders in the fight for gender equality any longer. Approaching this issue with the same textbook arguments and perceptions will only further entrench women in their immunity to this debate. To achieve real progress, we need to adapt our behaviors and challenge ourselves to embody true masculinity. We must be the men we want to see in the world. This means rejecting the notion that masculinity is defined solely by having a male reproductive organ. It's time to throw out the idea that being a man means disregarding our dignity or behaving in ways that contradict our conscience. Young men often argue that women should respect men as the heads of their families, but we must earn that respect through hard work, determination, and integrity. We can start by acting like men, talking like men, and walking like men. Let's treat others with respect and dignity, just as a real man would. This doesn't mean we should be ov

  I’ve almost familiarized myself with every motivational quote available on the internet, thanks to social media. There are all sorts of advice floating around and sometimes, it’s very tricky when choosing which one to abide by. Anyhow, we are all entitled under Section 46 to express ourselves freely.   To be honest, I would say that 98% of these quotes and advice floating around are like ‘band-aid’ guidelines: they will literally wear off in the next 2 hours, especially in a digitally driven world where there is a lack of conviction online. Nevertheless, all the advice out here are for a worthy cause, which is to motivate us, and it could also be worthwhile to join the crusade. But in my view, I would rather suggest that reading a lot of self-help books can service you to get to the root of the ‘advice.’ One of my recommendations is Stephen R. Covey’s ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.’ If you are traveling up that way, this book can help improve your mileage on the road to pe

Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk Thíc Quang Duc sits perfectly still amidst being engulfed in flames over the protest of the Viet government's religious oppression in Saigon, 1963. This act is called self-immolation; the act of sacrificing oneself by setting oneself on fire and burning to death. It is typically used for political or religious reasons, often a form of non-violent protest or in acts of martyrdom. It has a centuries-long recognition as the most extreme form of protest possible by humankind. (Wikipedia). "As he burned he never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound, his outward composure in sharp contrast to the wailing people around him," says Photographer Malcolm Browne, who captured the scene in Saigon.  At first, I thought 'wow.' Then it dawned on me; this monk is an actual human being with 2 eyes, 4 limbs, and 206 bones just like me. This begged the question: how did he not move a single muscle to communicate the pain? Like how? It's unimagin

There was a remote cabin, tucked away like a secret near the foot of a mountain. You know, like the ones near a river; where you have smoke poppin’ from the chimney, and it’s raining outside while the cat slowly paces up and down the fireplace casting shadows around the room - you get the picture.        There’s our friend, comfortably nestled in the sofa nearly facing the fireplace. He has his head buried deep in some Clive Cussler novel about a lost Buddha or something. I don’t know, he’s just read past page 25. He is lost in his fictional world; one leg over the other, and one hand supporting his chin in a classical reading pose.        And in front of him is some old furniture matching a coffee table, and on it - his favorite white mug. It had been 10 pages ago since he last picked up the mug; the coffee must be cold by now I guess. But he took a sip anyway.        Taste buds now dissatisfied, he put the mug away and buried his head back into the book. That’s what happens when you