The Power of Social Media for Collective Positive Action

My name is Yanamlyn and I am from one of the remotest villages in the Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea, Kaintiba. 

Kaintiba also shares a border with Morobe Province which is quite interesting because we get mistaken for being part of the Gulf or being part of Morobe.  For many years, you would either walk for hours and days to get to the village, or if you feel rich enough, get on a North Coast Aviation flight from Nadzab Airport in Lae or Kerema Airport to get to Kaintiba. As I speak, the Wau-Bulolo highway will be connecting Highlands Highway to Trans Highway via Kaintiba. This is a massive change my community will be experiencing. 

Growing up in a place like Kaintiba is not everyone’s cup of tea, and I am sure other Papua New Guineans will relate in one way or another. Being a village girl, I saw education as a way out, an opportunity, to explore the world outside of Kaintiba.  My childhood was mad: being chased by bees through an old garden, jumping off rocks at riverbanks into the pool only to realize the pool is not deep enough and now I have to nurse my bruised knees and twisted arm, falling into ditches with bilum full of sweet potatoes because my Mum and I were too busy harvesting sweet potatoes from the garden (not only for us to eat but for me to feed my livestock, pig,  which is my school fee money) and it dusked on us, playing ‘tingame’ until it was past 6pm and rush home only to be chased by Mum (my Mum loves me so dearly) to go and wash up and so I had to feel my way to the river which was like 30 minutes away. What was your childhood like in three words? Pain. Fun. Sweet.  

You know, as much as I want to dwell on how hard or fun it was being a village girl and growing up in the village with strict parents, I will leave that to another time.

It is my aspiration that soon, people, especially young people, will push forth positive change by collectively doing it. I know what it feels like to have something, and I know exactly what it feels like to have absolutely nothing. I will share a story and I hope it reminds us of the value we bring to other people’s lives through adverse times.

Yanamlyn meeting Anthony Blinken, U.S Secretary of State.

Not so long ago the world was crippled with a pandemic that devastated a lot of families, tested the quality of our health care system, and most importantly, and I believe, the faith in humanity. It was a time when we had to choose between so many things in our lives. This time was an opportunity to see how we can be of value to others. Social media, especially, played a big role in amplifying news and messages, either good or destructive, to the people. 

I remember reading about a hospital that was about to close for an indefinite period. This hospital serves 100,000 people annually, and now it was announcing its closure because of no funds to keep it operating, and worse, it was closing during a time when people needed it to stay open. I was reminded to see every problem as an opportunity to do something positive. I called the doctor who worked at the hospital to find out more on how I could help. He said, “Why are you offering to help? This is not your job. You have elected leaders for that matter. But if you want to help, do it at your own risk.” I know the doctor very well, and I knew he was being humorous, but he needed all the help he could get. 

Here is the fun risk I took: The hospital donated a seed capital of a grand. I started a t-shirt campaign to raise funds for the hospital. I never realized how powerful the social media world was until I launched the t-shirt campaign. I shared about it on ALL social media platforms, and even took it to LinkedIn. It was that personal to me. A good friend reached out and offered to start a GoFundMe campaign and strangers donated from around the world. A digital changemaker with a huge social media following started Facebook Live while wearing the t-shirt and directed everyone to buy the t-shirts. Not long, we had small groups of people fundraising within their own circles and sending financial donations to the hospital. Some business houses jumped on board. It got the attention of the local political leader. Everyone was doing their absolute best to support the initiative. Even though the target was half reached, it was still a decent amount of money raised for the hospital. 

The t-shirts that were created to raise funds for the hospital.

This is an example of how social media can collectively bring everyone together for a good cause. I say this many times and I will say this again, “The opportunities to impact our world and change it for the better are endless. We do not have to look harder further. We have an opportunity to add value to our community when we turn on the TV, view the next story on social media, turn the next page of the newspaper, or turn the next street corner.”

If you have a social media account, you have the power to bring communities together for a greater cause. Your community is counting on you. Do not let an opportunity to add value to and impact your community pass you by. Positive change, whether big or small, brings all of us and our communities one step closer to prosperity, sustainability, adaptability, and resilience in every sense of these words.

Written by Yanamlyn Yana - PAYA Manager of Partnerships

Yanamlyn pictured with His Excellency Mr John Ma'o KALI - High Commissioner for Papua New Guinea in Australia and Rakatani Gabi, PAYA Manager of Communications.