Wok bilong me (my work)

The West New Britain Provincial AIDS Committee (WNBPAC) works out of a small office on Provincial Administration’s Division of Health grounds, alongside Kimbe General Hospital.

Simon on the DoH grounds

The first couple weeks of my work here involved liaising with the HRC (Maryanne - HIV Response Coordinator), the M&E Officer (Ellen – Monitoring and Evaluation) and the LTV (Simon – VSO’s Long Term Volunteer Capacity Builder) to discuss areas where my experiences would be put to good use, and to identify objectives for my placement. ‘Excel is your friend’ as Ellen puts it…the last two weeks have basically been devoted to making Action Plans, Workplans, checklists, schedules, budgets and pretty much anything else that you can imaging fitting into a spreadsheet (or a table in Word when I need a change of scenery). I will basically be working trying to improve everything to do with data from the stakeholder level up to the National level. Data collection, quality, record-keeping, compilation, analysis, reporting, prioritization, and use – you name it. The wonderful thing about working at the Provincial level is that we are in regular contact with the stakeholders who directly carry out HIV/AIDS related activities in the field, all the way up the complex plans and policies of the National AIDS Council and international funding and support bodies. It is a position that is well in line with my experience and with the direction I hope to take with my career.The objectives we have laid out are motivating to aspire to, and the terms of reference allow enough flexibility to take the posting in the direction that WNBPAC sees most beneficial. 

Ellen and I on the way to the office

Consequently, Ellen and I have ended up with an outreach plan that would be labeled almost insane by some working in the field. At a minimum, over the next 5 months we hope to carry out at least 71 days of outreach, and the more money that we can save per trip, the more trips we will be able to do.Such stakeholder visits are key to meeting our objectives, as many relate to improving the quality and flow of data between them and us. The geographical constraints of working in West New Britain mediate that with the exception of settlements along the North coast highway, all outreach will need to be done by boat trips around the exterior of the island. The first outreach is scheduled for next week, where we will undertake an 11 day trip from Kimbe counter-clockwise along the coastline all the way to the south coast border between WNB and East New Britain at Amio.

Kimbe

The WNBPAC office here managed to find me unbelievable accommodation which is well beyond my expectations.

My place

Considering that I was unsure whether I would even have electricity or running water, I was in awe that this would be my home for the next six months. Apparently, Simon (the long-term Capacity Building Volunteer) and Maryanne (the HIV Response Coordinator) had a multi-day negotiation session with the landlord who normally rents the house out to shorter term visitors at double or triple the price. But, in a great show of advocacy in action, they convinced him that he had a social responsibility to tackle HIV/AIDS in his community by supporting my stay here....well done team!

Ellen, the M&E Officer for WNBPAC, is a Papua New Guinean girl near my age. We get along fantastically, and for two girls coming from opposite ends of the world, we have a lot in common. Ellen has been staying with me for the last couple weeks to help me get acquainted with the town, and, just as importantly for security and other reasons, to let the town get acquainted with me. The plan seems to be working out as she hoped – from what she tells me, most locals are already familiar with my presence.Simon had a similar experience. He told me that when he arrived, he thought that, because of his darker skin, he would blend in quite well.

Simon and Ellen in town

But in reality, the Kimbe locals quickly recognized this 6’5” Ugandan fellow and he was soon known as ‘the other African’ of the two currently on the island.People in town would know and greet him by name, and he was astounded at how much he must stand out for being new. Not surprisingly the same thing is happening me, going from an unknown face to one who is being quickly associated with Ellen, with Simon, with the WNBPAC etc. Already her friends of friends have been asking who this girl is she is hanging out with, or if I am walking around without her they all ask me where she had disappeared to.

It is a funny situation to wrap my head around to realize that there is this whole social network going on beyond my recognition. This is just one of the things that make Papua New Guineans so special and known for, and in practice, makes for a wonderful social setting where everyone fits into the net in one way or another.

Inspiring personalities

During the orientation week, I met some of the other new VSO volunteers. Nikki and Ben would be working in the same role as me but in different provinces, Jane would be staying in Madang in another HIV/AIDS position, and Deb, David and Dave would all be heading up to the Highlands for various placements in Education. We all got on wonderfully well and it was exciting to hear about some of their previous experiences working abroad – PNG, Nepal, Ethiopia, Nigeria - there was undoubtedly a wealth of experience in the room. On a personal note, I have to say that I was most inspired to realize that there are people working in the development field who share some of the same attributes as climbers trying to make their passion their lifestyle – the willingness to trade money, work stability, and that house with the white picket fence for a way of living that never ceases to yield new experiences, and that keeps us genuinely happy, without the external pressures found in city-life in the ‘real world’. Over the years and across some of the people I have met on climbing trips (and now in the development sector), it sparks hope and optimism in me to see older people and couples managing to have that unbiased and uninhibited happiness that this kind of lifestyle can provide. 

Fastaim mi kamap long PNG (Arrival in PNG and first impressions)

I was warmly welcomed in Papua New Guinea upon arrival by a couple of the VSO staff, Richard and Jenn, who were kind enough to get me from the airport on their weekend off.

Looking back, I’m still not sure how I was lucky enough to get all my bags out here without being weighed. Over 3 different carriers and across 4 different luggage allowances (Air Canada, Qantas, Air Niugini international with scuba allowance, and AN domestic), I somehow dodged a few potentially hefty excess baggage charges. Being one of my first trips in a long time that was not climbing or kayaking-related, I assumed that my bags would be quite light, as I did not need to bring any specialized equipment. However, I soon became aware that I would be spending many long evenings locked up at home, and thus came prepared with some items that, although quite ridiculous to travel with, at the same time will in theory help me to retain my sanity over half a year without climbing. So, in a way it is in everyone’s best interests, and my guitar, snorkeling gear, yoga mat, hangboard, and laptop (newly stocked with a few TV series, as well as some Oscar nominees, foreign films and documentaries), made the cut.

We drove down the peninsula that is Madang, and then looped back along the coast. I was blown away by how bright and vibrant Papua New Guinea (PNG) naturally is. Perhaps it was the contrast of leaving rainy Vancouver mid-winter to arriving in this tropical paradise, but the blue of the sky, the green of the palm trees, and the turquoise of the water left me speechless. As we pulled into Madang Lodge, I was again astounded. Turns out us new volunteers would be living there for a week of orientation and training. Madang Lodge is a beautiful little resort on the seaside with wonderful food, and even boasts a swimming pool. Not what I was expecting for a first week of my placement as a volunteer in a developing country, but hey, I will take it!

We spent the week at VSO’s Country Office in Madange having an orientation week on VSO’s work and goals in the country, as well as some training in PNG culture, language and security. In all, VSO has over 40 volunteers serving in many different provinces, most of which are working in the fields of Education and HIV/AIDS. The sessions were very relevant, informative, and interactive, and the more I learned the more I felt like I was going to love this country. The staff was very open, incredibly well organized, and prepared us very well for life in PNG both personally and professionally. We had a few sessions of language training in Tok Pisin which is a Pidgin Language that has arisen from colonial times through the frequent contact between people of different language groups. Vocabulary-wise and phonetically it is very similar to English, however, as with most other languages, the local people speak quite quickly, and therefore to my untrained ears, it did not sound like English at all. I imagine that will changes with more exposure to hearing it. Although I will be working in English, if I can learn some Tok Pisin I will be much better equipped to interact with the local people, especially the women and children in the villages that we will be visiting.

The week in Madang, I met Ellen, the M&E officer from the West New Britain Provinical AIDS committee (WNB PAC). She will be my partner in crime for the next few months. Along with the other staff at the PAC and the other VSO long-term volunteer, Simon, she and I will be working very closely together. We traveled from Madang to Kimbe together, and I was grateful for her presence as we ended up stranded in Port Moresby overnight due to being bumped off our connecting flight. The next day we flew in over the sprawling acres of palm oil plantations that the province is famous for, and landed safely in beautiful Kimbe.