OLDIES of SOGERI GLOW

 

LEWA SOGERI

The Lewa Sogeri flowers.

FORTY years on, the memories of the green green grass of home are still fresh.

The cool mountain air of a distant past still reminds these oldies of their youthful innocence in the mountains of Sogeri.

Unforgettable memories of education and unfathomable experiences of adventure are shared over food and drinks.

Every Christmas, the dwindling small group of Ex-Sogeri gathers at the offices of Kiddie and Associates to reminisce about the golden past. In the late 70’s and early 80’s Sogeri Senior High School was one of only 4 national high schools in PNG.

The other national high schools were Kerevat in East New Britain, which also started as a colonial era high school, Aiyura in Eastern Highlands and Passam in East Sepik.

Sogeri was the oldest and the one with the richest history steeped in the time of colonialism when discipline was strict, and when inroads were being made to educate the next generation of Papua New Guineans to take ownership of their country.

The most famous Sogeri Old Boy is Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare. Sogeri was the school of thought. It was the school of academic excellence. It was the stop for discipline.

Sogeri produced the nation's first Prime Minister. Young men and women from all walks of life strived to enter its famous halls of residence.

This small group calls itself Lewa Sogeri, the cadre of 1980-81, and is led by accountant Watt Kiddie, who is also Chairman of the PNG Peace Foundation and Gutpela Sindaun projects.

Along with Watt Kiddie were Leo Mage, Caesar Kelly, Brian Singut and many more and from that day in 1981 they formed a solid group to be remembered and should have reunion as Christmas.

‘Lewa Sogeri’ senior Caesar Kelly said that the group was big and 'we went our separate ways, others furthered their studies in the Universities, others to Technical schools and others direct to workforce'.

“Many of them are now successful lawyers, doctors, accountants, army, police and some of them are in business in PNG and some are politicians who are Sogeri School products,” Kelly said.

Kelly said that he went straight to workforce after passing out in 1981 and worked as an Information Technician (IT), Watt Kiddie became an accountant, Mage is still working with PNG Air for 30 years now and Brian Singut is the man who set up the Century 21.

“Forty years now after we left Sogeri Senior High School (now Sogeri National High School) most of us are of similar age and others pass away while some of us are still maintaining the Sogeri brotherhood spirit of sharing moments every Christmas,” Kelly said.

“Since Kiddie has a space for gathering those who could make it, they do come because they know that they come out from a school when technologies were not yet introduced and also PNG was at the beginning of the development to be matured,” Mage said.

“Those schooling days were very hard because the country got independent and just only five years passed and at that time the country desperately need such educated young guns like us and of course we gave best to our country and now we are still contributing to the country,” Kiddie said.

“When comparing our schooling days and today's children now have access to many advanced technologies which is making their learning much more easily while others are corrupted by the technologies because they are not using it wisely,” Kiddie said.

Mage said that the Peace Foundation originated from Sogeri and Kiddie has established its footprints very well.

It is now the PNG Peace Foundation and Gutpela Sindaun and the group of ‘Lewa Sogeri’ started in 2007 and it still exists today.

The original ‘Lewa Sogeri’ group of 1980 and 1981 is now calling on any ex-Sogeri school students out there just come join the group and to share the moments you have experienced during the schooling life in Sogeri and how you see the schools today.

“Christmas is a good time to meet and greet old ex-school mates regardless how old you could be but as long as the ‘Lewa Sogeri’ group is concerned, we really like to invite any ex-Sogeri students who would like to join the group and share the moments together,” Kiddie said.

Sogeri National High Schools as we know today was first established in 1944 as the ANGAU Papua training centre and later became the Sogeri School.

Today it is Sogeri National High School - a school of excellence for the nation.

They say in Lewa Sogeri, old flowers never die, they just smell better every year.