“When I was a child, I would sit on my mother’s lap and she would tell me the stories of our people. It meant that my whole life I’ve known who I am, because I know my story...
I’m so grateful for it because today it’s fading away. It’s harder for young people because of the noise of modern life … they don’t take time to spend with their elders and learn their stories.”
Kim Allen (28) is a volunteer youth leader in our partner the United Church in Papua New Guinea (UCPNG). He is responsible for engaging UCPNG youth on an island off the southeast coast of Papua New Guinea where he grew up.
His father was a pastor, his mother told him the traditional stories of their people, and his grandparents were Bible translators who worked with Australian missionaries.
Guided by the positive impact they made on his life and his community, Kim follows in their footsteps, acting as a facilitator to connect youth to the work of the church.
“The challenges we’re facing are school dropouts, unemployment, early marriage and the impacts of climate change,” he says.
But the underlying problem affecting young people today, is what he describes as ‘noise.’
“Young people are exposed to so much noise, with the internet, mobile phones, drugs, peer pressure, music. They can’t focus."
“It used to just be in the cities but is coming to the islands and rural areas too now.”
What’s the answer?
“The first step is to help them be aware of themselves and their lives as children of God,” says Kim.
“With that awareness we can then meet them at a practical level, training them to be good citizens, to work against violence, to build up their communities…"
“The church gives them hope and a solid foundation to be human. We see that as intrinsic to spiritual development.”
For Kim, having greater awareness of ourselves and others starts with our stories. And that comes through inter-generational dialogue.
“In PNG and across the Pacific, we don’t read books so much because it’s not a reading culture. We do storytelling from person to person,” he says.
“When our elders tell stories the children go, oh that is my story, I am part of that.”
Not only does it increase comprehension and literacy, but children grow up to make an impact around them.
“If [young people] know their story, they know that they have values. They know to have respect for elders, respect for each other and respect for the environment.”
What a beautiful vision.
Stoy By The Uniting World
