July 31, Herd Base, Gulf Province – Papua New Guinea
As the eldest of three brothers, Morris Gebby, 29, from Rigo district in Central province shared his story of how the opportunity from the Papua LNG project has significantly changed his life.
“In year 2000, my mother passed away, and then, we were taken care of by our father, but he remarried. So, we grew up in a life of struggles,” Morris shared with a heavy-hearted tone.
Morris was the second born in a family of five boys. His world seemed to fall apart after the passing of his mother, and then his elder brother; in 2011, and being left by his father. Morris did not give up in life, after taking up the role as the elder brother, and kept moving forward, knowing well that he had to provide and support for his younger ones.
“With what I earned, I was able to assist my siblings with their needs and most importantly, their school fares,” he recalled.
He reflected on his first day at the base camp, “It was so bare, most of the buildings that stand now were not around”.
He was hired in 2014 as local hire, to assist with carrying out tasks to assist in clearing and constructions in and around the camp area. With the abrupt disturbance by COVID-19 in 2019, Morris returned home; Port Moresby and tried other jobs.
On February 16 this year, Morris returned to the base camp through OILMIN Holdings limited; A field service company that offers support services such as construction, camp management, catering, and many others, mostly to Oil & Gas companies. He is currently the laundry foreman.
“I love my job. Because through it, I can support my family.
“My families are always grateful for me being given the opportunity to work here. Because they rely on me, and know that through this job, they have a place to rest and have food on the table.
“And also, when I am at site, they respect me and do not put too much pressure on me by only sharing positive stories as possible when talk to me over the phone,” Morris says.
He also said through the opportunity, he is able to gives back to his village community whenever they need his assistance. And that makes his community members see him as a leader and respect him when he visits.
Putting on fresh clean clothes can make one feel brand new each time. And that is the experience laundry foreman Morris and his team aim to continuously give to workers and visitors at Herd Base.
It may be regarded as a simple and humble duty by some, but it surely is not, when you have to make sure 240 people, plus visitors have to have clean clothes to wear every morning and afternoon.
As for Morris, he sees it as a challenge, and mostly finds satisfaction when he successfully delivers the exact number of items back to their owners after laundry is done under his supervision. “I enjoy doing laundry because I am always accurate with my record keeping – no missing items so far,” he said.
Morris is a father of three healthy and happy children and a husband to a proud and supportive wife. He continuous to delightfully work hard and aims to continue contributing to the Project with the hope to be part of it throughout its longevity.
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