The 
Journey
Maitland Glebe Redfern Fairfield Orange Liverpool..
Goulburn Albury Armidale Dubbo Ryde
Waterloo Bathurst Granville Wagga Blacktown Redfern...
Aitape
Nuku
Lumi
Mt Hagen
Wewak
Lumi
Sandaun Province
Papua New Guinea
1989 - 92 

The Lumi district in the Sandaun province is the most underdeveloped and most populous area in that part of the  country. According to a WHO (World health Org.) report in the 60's,it also had the smallest babies born anywhere in the world and this was attributable to the poor nutrition in the area.

Before WWII there had been virtually no mission activity in the region and the first Franciscans (Fr. James O'Meara et al) arrived in the late 40's. Some ten years later the MFIC sisters came and established schools and clinics in the area and also did a lot of the pastoral work. Of the three deaneries in the Aitape diocese, Lumi was regarded as the most progressive and the people were very responsive.

Brother Charles Barry >>>
St Ignatius, Aitape: 1968 - 77
St Francis, Walamu: 1978 - 88
 Lumi High School: 1989 - 92
Aitape High School: 1993
St Francis, Walamu: 1994
 At the end of 1988 the Brothers withdrew from the very high-profile and successful St Ignatius High School, Aitape.  They had been there since 1968.  Lumi was to be the new venture.

Some Background on the School

Prior to the opening of the Lumi High School in 1974, the students had to go to Aitape for a secondary education and few females were allowed to go so far from home.

The school itself had a difficult birth as there were land disputes and village rivalries and, since all materials had to be flown in, the government often ran short of funds for the classrooms and the teachers' housing. (Photo: Lumi High School Crest)

Even though it was a govt agency school the Catholic mission personnel really got behind it and helped the staff and students get through the many teething problems.

From the beginning, recruiting staff was difficult and many of the early expatriate headmasters did not see their contracts through and left in frustration. The lack of road access to Wewak, the uncooperative nature of some villagers and the chairman of the Board of Governors, led to low morale in the school. The net result of these tribulations was that Lumi High School's results in the School Cert exam were invariably the lowest in the country.

The Arrival of the Patricians

At a Patrician gathering in Aitape in late 1987,the possibility of helping out at Lumi High School was considered. Relevant mission personnel were consulted and were most supportive while the Govt people were both surprised and wary as it was unheard of for a mission headmaster to take charge of a Govt school.

When Brothers Charles Barry and David Sullivan arrived  in Lumi in January 1989, the basic infrastructure of the school was satisfactory, apart from the water supply for the 330 odd boarders who walked there from a roughly 25 km radius. The situation was not helped by the negative attitude of one village group that attempted to block the students access to the local river for bathing and laundry purposes and also for a supply of gravel.
After the Board of Governors was revamped and several outdated structures and practices overhauled, morale gradually began to improve among staff and students. Food gardens were established, work parades reorganised, a piggery and fowl run resurrected and a full sized concrete basketball court constructed, all done by the staff and students. This alone gave everyone a great lift.
Lumi High School students in their new uniform
as introduced by the Brothers in 1990
Unlike the situation in Aitape and Nuku, we found it impossible to get a regular supply of locally grown food as the people were still in the hunting and gathering mode and not into cash cropping. Fortunately the road to Wewak was passable most of the time (generally a 10 hour trip), thus enabling supplies of rice and fish plus other supplies, to be transported. We did have a very efficient, though primitive, bread-making operation at the school consisted of two 44-gallon drums encased in concrete and fired by timber.
Laying of a time-capsule in '89
Baking their own bread in '89
1990 Student Singsings
Visit of Prime Minister in 1990
Br. David did wonders at raising the self-esteem of the students through sporting activities and project work while Sr. Rosella and Joyce Werwei really boosted the retention rate and the self-confidence of the girls. (Photo: David canoeing on holiday from Lumi.)

The local villagers appreciated the services provided at the school's medical clinic and flocked to the weekend soccer games and the television viewing after we erected a huge dish.

The local missionaries gave us unstinting support especially Franciscans Br. Leo and  Fr. Arthur. The Education Dept also was more than impressed with the overall progress being made, resulting in the school results improving dramatically over the four years. (Photo: Br Leo, OFM, with our Br Michael Vella on a visit to Lumi from Nuku.)

The Board of Governors and the provincial Govt pleaded with the Brothers to stay on in Lumi but other events and circumstances, within the Patrician group, necessitated more concentration of our limited personnel at our Aitape base on Bishop's Hill.  Charles was offered the headmastership of the Govt High School in Aitape and accepted it for the 1993 academic year.

Next to everything above this line was written by Brother Charles Barry in response to my request for some information on the Lumi years. When he went to Lumi, Charles had been in PNG for twenty-one years and he was entering into his third principalship. The first school, St Ignatius in Aitape, he brought to maturity; the second school, St Francis High School in Walamu, he carved from the jungle; and now his third school, Lumi High School, he was to restore to it some dignity and confidence. Of course he didn't do all that by himself, and he would be the very first to proclaim that, and that is why he is so little mentioned in his story of Lumi.

The Lumi Communities:

1989 - 91: Brothers Charles Barry and David Sullivan (David overseas July to January, 1989)
1992: Brothers Charles Barry and John Bosco Sai (John Bosco taught in a local primary school.)

Note:  Would appreciate any photos of the Brothers at Lumi High School if anyone can help. Contact me. (Thank you to Brothers Charles Barry and Domenic Xuereb for most of the photos on this page.)