Young political activist rises

By GIDEON KINDIWA
It was tough growing up in a village and facing financial hardships for school fees but despite all he made his way through in his desire to see a better Papua New Guinea tomorrow.
Hercules Jim is a youth leader and a spokesperson who advocates against corruption and fights for a free and fair Papua New Guinea where everyone will be seen and treated as equals. He is known by many in the country and the region.
He was one of the student leaders terminated by the University of Papua New Guinea Council during the 2016 student protest which led to police shooting students which spurred demonstrations and unrest all over the country.
He started working as a campaigner with Bismarck Ramu Group in 2017 and later that year shifted to Institute of National Affairs where he now works as a project coordinator for the Consultative Implementation and Monitoring Council (CIMC).
Whilst working to contribute to policy formulation in PNG, Hercules was nominated to represent the South Pacific in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit in Georgia and the Regional Meeting in the Republic of Korea.
He had the privilege of speaking to hundreds of youth leaders from all over the world plus business and government heads during the conventions.
OGP is a multilateral initiative started in 2011 that aims to secure concrete commitments from national and subnational governments to promote open government, empower citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.
“In PNG, youths make up around two thirds of the total population, which means that youths have more power and ability to bring about change, however, they are being confined by the system,” he said.
“If the Government can actively support and create the avenue for young people to participate in policy-making and governance, this country would never be the same.”
Faith in young people
Hercules believes that young people have the strength, capability and innovative ideas to greatly contribute to the development of the country, the region and in the international community as well, if they can be given the opportunity to do so.
Through the OGP conventions, he was able to present his idea about active involvement of youths in governance, policy making and service delivery.
Hercules’ life and contribution to youth empowerment has started to make people aware of the possibilities of youth leadership. His story takes us back to how he came to be where he is now, what made him chose that path, and what he believed in.
Hercules, 25, was born in Kudjip, Jiwaka. His mother, Susie Mapsea, raised him up with the help of her parents. Hercules grew up never knowing his biological father who is of Asian descent.
He spent most of his time with his grandparents, where he learnt a lot about culture, lifestyle and the socio-cultural norms of the Jiwaka society.
As a child, Hercules grew up facing so many challenges. Finance was a big problem for him, in terms of his school fees and basic personal needs.
He found that biggest challenge in his life was fitting into society.
“The colour of my skin was different. As I grew up, people called me all sorts of names and I couldn’t find my place in the community.
“From that time onwards, I realised that the world was unfair and that people did not really care.
“Growing up with the little I have each day, plus the challenges I face in order to fit into the society made me become very critical of the choices I made.”
Hercules’ mother re-married when he was still an infant, but she continued to play a major part in his upbringing. His grandfather Jim Mapsea, from whom Hercules got his surname, got Hercules as his own. Jim and his wife Kum played an important part in his upbringing.
Hercules started his education at St Anslem Primary School in Banz, in 2000. In 2007, he became the student representative council (SRC) president. He was caught up with his first leadership role and did not perform well academically.
He was transferred to Giramben Primary School where he completed eighth grade and was selected to do Grade nine at Milep High School in Nondogulg.
He said that some of the hardest days of his life were during his primary and high school days in Jiwaka.
“I can still remember when I was in Grade five I had no school fees and my grandmother and I had to dig kaukaus at Fatima cattle ranch and sell them to pay my fees. I had nothing else to depend on than God. I grew so close to God that I feel Him and see His miracles in my life.”
Hercules had a very strong faith and maintained biblical principles as a youth.
“Many young men and women we grew up together or went to school together have turned into drugs, homebrew, criminal activities and have given up their youth because of certain situations they’ve faced in their lives.However, I decided to set my feet upon the Word of God and hope for a brighter future for myself and my country.”
He complete Grade 10 with straight distinctions and was selected to continue Grade 11 at Sogeri National High School where he majored in science.
In Grade 11, he started taking a stance against corruption. He volunteered with Transparency International PNG and founded the Youth Against Corruption Association (Yaca) in Sogeri.
Yaca was an initiative designed by TIPNG to mobilise youths to carry out change and fight corruption early in their careers. It was set up in several other secondary schools. Hercules saw that Sogeri needed that kind of programme to help enhance young people’s mindset on issues of corruption.
He volunteered and set up Yaca at Sogeri and was appointed president in 2012.
At Sogeri, teachers created an environment where Hercules felt the need and urgency for taking part to contribute to good governance and political development in the country. Although he was in science class, his interest totally shifted into the field of politics.
A passion for books
Apart from what he got from the classroom, Hercules has a passion for books. He read books from authors like Dr Myles Munroe and Dr Ben Carson, which played an integral part in shaping his mindset and attitude. There was always positivity in everything he sets his heart out for.
He informed his family that he wanted to apply to the University of Papua New Guinea to study political science, but his family disagreed arguing that there was no future in politics and they sturdily made him choose engineering courses at the University of Technology.
That night he could not sleep. He knew he wanted something else. He knew deep inside that God called him for something else. He could feel something burning inside of him.
He went back the next day and changed his choices and applied for political science at UPNG. No one in his class or family knew about the change. He kept it to himself and went back to the highlands after his exams.
A battle of choices
In early 2013, he travelled to Mendi to attend a PNGBC students’ convention where he was asked to lead a mission outreach for the first time. After the outreach, he got a call from one of his uncles who told him that his name was on the selection list.
Hercules was overwhelmed when he heard the news. But then, his uncle told him that he was also selected at the University of Goroka.
Hercules replied, “I’ll go to UPNG”.
His uncle said, “Son, they got you for creative arts, and you’re going to draw. Drop it and go to UOG.”
“That’s okay uncle, if that’s what God wants me to do, I’ll go ahead and do it,” he replied.
From that moment on, his family started to go against him. They had always believed that he would become an engineer or a doctor, and studying creative arts was somewhat unacceptable to them.
Nevertheless, he knew deep inside that he wanted to become a political scientist or analyst.
Hercules was reminded by Myles Munroe’s words, “The bigger the vision you have, the bigger the challenge will be.”He looked at the positive side of the challenge and knew that he was on the right part.
He did not have enough money for tuition fees and so he sold his only laptop, found some other means to collect funds as well, and went to UPNG.
During his first year, 2013, he felt as if he was not where he wanted to be. He became depressed and fell ill.
In 2014, instead of studying under his selected stream, Hercules signed up for political science courses.
“After four years at university, I have to go out with a political science degree, regardless of what courses I study,” he said.
“And that made me to study politics despite of the fact that I was registered as an arts and drama student.”
When he was in third year, he realised that he would not be able to graduate because he was taking politics instead of arts, so he went to see the executive officer of social science Herra Onno.
Onno told him that he had never seen anything like this. He told Hercules to go study arts and complete it and take politics later. Hercules hesitated and said, “I don’t see myself anywhere.”
He also wrote a letter stating that he had a dream and a passion and saw himself in politics and not in any other subject.
Onno took a long time to finally agree and allow him to continue as a politics student.
Hercules helped form the Jiwaka Students and Graduates Association in 2013, which aims to build Jiwakan elites in God’s Word so that they become better leaders in the future. In 2014, he became vice president for Jiwaka Christian Students Fellowship at UPNG and in 2015.
2016 protest a career highlight
One of the major highlights of his career and leadership roles was the student protest and unrest in 2016. He was the Highlands regional representative during the student protest and a key member of the UPNG SRC under the leadership of Kenneth Rapa.
He was terminated from studies, along with other SRC members, after the police shootings on June 8, 2016.
The student leaders took the matter to court, won the case and were allowed to complete their studies. Hercules was able to complete his studies and get the political science degree he had been dreaming of since high school.
Hercules strongly believes in creating the right environment for young people to enhance themselves with knowledge, skills, and most of all the right attitude and character shaped by God’s Word, in order to see change.