THE HUMBLE COMMUNITY LEADER

 

WORDS CANNOT REPLACE THE EMPTINESS

 

Daughters of Late Mr Rocksy Locketty Aulo.

Ms Dianne Aulo (right) and late Father.

By VICKY BAUNKE of Post-Courier, GOROKA

IN every community there is this one elderly man that is feared not out of resentment but out of respect because of his willingness to stand for justice and fairness.

A kind of person that steps in to address conflicts and, in his presence, peace is maintained.

This is the story of the late Rocksy Locketty Aulo.

Many young people just called him affectionately as ‘daddy’ to honour his father figure and leadership.

He was also also a towering icon of love and a caring heart. He was the type of person that wanted peace and harmony to prevail in his community so there could be joy, happiness and prosperity.

He always had a warm and cordial relationship with everybody. He also rebuked lawlessness and

 for his fatherly figure and gestures but he is addressed by many titles for his many roles in the Kama Nagamiufa area as a man of values, respect and principles.

Born in 1968 on February 27, to parents Aulo and Selzo he was delivered beside the sand in the last Kama area at 'Opena Heraroka' - meaning 'beside the sand' at which he took his name ‘Getakueh’ which means sand in the Gahuku language of Goroka.

He began his formal education on independence at the Gama Lutheran School by enrolling in as ‘Locketty’ (1975 -1980), then to completing grades 7 – 10 at the Asaroka Lutheran High School as ‘Rocksy’ and finishing off at the Aiyura National High (1985-1986).

He was one of the many young men at that time who went to the ‘Kiap Skul’ at the public Administration College (now PNGIPA) in Port Moresby studying to be a patrol officer for 4 months and in the same year continued to Madang.

But his first real paying job was as a clerk with SP Brewery Depot in Goroka before kiap school.

Out of kiap school, he took up his official job as an Assistant Patrol officer with the Department of Provincial Affairs in Waigani (February – November 1987) and then began working with the Lands Department in EHP in Okapa and Henganofi (1988 -1989).

Then he was accepted for studies at the University of Technology to pursue his interests in Land Administration Studies in 1992 and furthered his studies at UNITECH graduating with a bachelor in Land and Surveying in 1997.

He was also heavily involved in the construction of the Yonki dam as a patrol officer carrying out project liaison duties with the then Elcom Dam Project, Yonki.  He then became an assistant lands officer from 1997 – 2003.

In May 2003 he became a Provincial Lands Department Surveyor until 2007 then later left to work with Digicel as a Site Acquisition Manager till 2012 and when he was recruited as a Senior Surveyor for the Highlands Region with the Department of Lands and Physical Planning.

As a young enthusiastic man committing to public service with experiences serving in the Lands Department on issues of land matters, he was very vocal in his community encouraging locals not to sell their land and continue to value traditional ties with neighboring communities.

Born and raised in Kama area of Goroka he disliked people who disrespected locals on their land and never tolerated alcohol abuse that disturb peace in the community.

He always had a willing heart to assist those who were in need, especially caring for homeless children, and offered support to those who seem to be in need like providing medical assistance.

He was a kind of person that was open to everyone and when he disapproves of a bad behavior, he openly tells you but then jokes at the end so that you understand your mistake and improve but not be humiliated to change.

He treated his family members with great respect and responds to problems in nearby communities with financial or material support.

A month before his passing he was ordained and blessed by the Lutheran Church in Goroka as the Manager for the Lutheran Church Asaro Circuit which he had been committing himself to the service but left on that Monday morning on May 13, 2019 at the age of 51.

One could sense the sadness in his daughters faces after the passing of their late beloved father. “He treats us with love, respect to gender, values and guides us on the right path according to Christian principles," they tearfully recalled.

His family members will miss the qualities in him that can never be replaced, unknowing of how long the pain will heal in the family, for his peers, colleagues and members in the community for the kind of person he is.

Late Aulo will be missed by his wife, 7 daughters Dian, Georgina, Delila, Delma, Debbian, Jackie and Bella and 2 sons Danny and Laksman and grandchildren, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, members of his family, colleagues, friends and community members.