Bad. Very, very bad. (Rats)

A Highlands MP – has 7 official wives... and here's the rest of the story (linking/stealing from a friend's blog).

Argh!

Melbourne, C’wealth Games & PNG

I’ve come home to the single free-to-air channel on a Sunday night (Em TV is the solitary broadcast PNG channel), and it’s playing the closing ceremony to the Commonwealth Games. It’s been a bit easy to be disparaging (white elephant etc.), but I must say, it looked pretty impressive on the teev tonight. I’m not quite sure what that version of ‘better be home soon’ was all about (she sang well – very low?). So anyways, there’s plenty that talk about how it’s a waste blah blah – but I find myself not caring too much about cynicism on a Sunday night watching my home town kick’in it on teev around the world.

When they show each of the countries in a row – all coming ‘together’ as such… it’s cool.

When they pay so many musicians and dancers n stuff in the arts – it’s cool.

The FIRST gold medal EVER was won for Papua New Guinea in the Men’s Butterfly. People here have been talking about it a fair bit (here in Lae, and when I was down in Popondetta) – and they’re (all 3 medals I think) national heroes now… something that (I think) is cool for PNG. The TV hasn’t stopped replaying it for a few nights now. The welcome back into PNG was worthy of the biggest winning grand-final parade I’ve ever seen.

Finally, the other surprising bit to me was when Ron Walker came on and introduced all the dignitaries (incl. Mr & Ms Howard/ etc.) and the Melb Lord Mayor John So got the largest applause out of all every time his name was mentioned! I mean, I’ve never had a thing with him one way or another (except the usual politics stuff) – but I didn’t realise he was *that* popular. They’re printing up t-shirts with “John So is my Bro”?

And India has the next games. 1 billion, and it’s the first ever commonwealth games in India. Bollywood is cool too.

Martyrs Memorial (High) School

One part of the trip to Oro was heading out with Bishop Tevita to go and see one of the largest (and previously most prestigious in the country) Anglican high school – Martyrs (MMS).

This was the first of the large Anglican Church agency high schools I’ve managed to get to – as they’re all in the bush to a certain extent. Overall, including primary/community schools, there are over 200 Anglican agency schools… So I spent some time with the Principal chatting, spent some time with the Bursar checking out the accounts being run in Excel, and got an excellent walk around a section of the (huge) campus space with the Deputy principal.

The Breakdown – MMS Popondetta
Location -: about an hour drive towards Kokoda from Popondetta town*
Years 9 to 12
600+ Kids
Class sizes – average 40+
% of females – 40%
Boarding - 90% of all school children
Beds – not enough for everyone.
Computers – about 8 in total. I think 5 work properly, but not sure.
Electricity – no probs, generator runs OK
Gardens – plenty for the kids to work on to grow food.

* The road to Kokoda from Pop is sealed as far as the queen went on her last visit here…

I also spent 10 minutes or so with x3 Gap year students (just out of highschool – 18y.o. or so) from the UK who came over to teach for 8 weeks. Excellent program – they (the 3 UK’ers) learnt a lot whilst being supervised by teachers from MMS, and taught a lot. Try and get more programs like this up and running in the future methinks.

As usual – I snapped pics away here and there. Also as usual in PNG, there were whole bits I didn’t want to be waving a camera around.

You say Popondetta – I say Popondota – “Oro Oro Oro!!!”

Oro Oro Oro – or “welcome” in the Tok Ples around here. It’s was a busy week of travelling n meetings n things last week. I only had a short time to see stuff, but Oro is another level again in the rural stakes – and visiting there gave me yet another small peek at life outside of Moresby/Lae/Goroka.



I had a week down in Oro Province – beautiful place. House of Bishops meeting was the first reason, so we get everyone together (after my office organises the 11 flights 5 transfers and one dingy/boat trip to get 6 of us to the airport in Pop), and held it at the Anglican Theological College – Newton Theological College (NTC). Partly it was held here to support to local community. A senior Lecturer (also a priest) for the college was tragically killed last year by a falling tree (along with 3 Four-square priests) hitting the truck they were travelling in. The lecturers injured wife, a primary reason to get all the bishops down there, is ‘Mother’ Rachel Demisi. Mother has lost half of one arm and three fingers on the other hand (which is still limp because of other damage). This is tough stuff, particularly if you’ve had a wander through what passes as a general hospital here in PNG. For something like this to happen to one/two promising leaders in the community is… beyond tragedy.

Ok. So Oro generally is a beautiful place, but makes Lae look like a metropolis.. and makes Morebsy look like New York. I’m not sure where Melbourne comes in there – but I think you get the point.

As usual, you can check out more of the latest piccy’s in this link here.

Popondota--: [[It’s a longer story than this - but basically a Bishop of Popondota Diocese down there in Oro Province was a linguist as well, and basically had the “correct” spelling and pronunciation as Popondota – not Popondetta… so that’s what the Anglican’s stick with! Causes all sorts of head-aches when people go to correct me/us… anyhoo’s.]]

Just a quick dash of poetry

Great book I’ve just finished, leant to me by John Rea – a fellow worker for the Anglican Church. It’s called “The Time Travellers Wife” – and begins with the following poems. You’ll have to cut me a break alonesome with a gin on a Monday night in Lae – (they’re soppy) – the book was a quality novel (thanks John!)

Love after Love
The time will come
when, with elation
wou will greet yourself arriving
at your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other’s welcome

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel you own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

--- Derek Walcott

Big Game Fishing!

Very cool.

I got invited along via a mate (Alex) to go out ‘fishing’ on a Sunday on his boss’s boat. Starting pre-6am on a Sunday morning, we got up to the Yacht club and get on the boat/ship/vessel – “Witchdoktor”. This thing is HUGE – with all the trimmings. Bob had earlier in the year driven it up from Sydney (where it was bought), stopping in at Brisbane/Cairns etc. all the way to Lae.

Of course, I was the newbie-nuffer for the first half of the day. Reel starts spinning and you’re supposed to get all the other lines fully out of the way before anything else happens (6 lines at least and x2 other trailing lures)… there can be hours of nothing – and then x2 rods start bending all of a sudden and it’s on.

Being the newbie also meant I got first crack when a reel went off. Earlier in the day I had the “big one that got away” – a decent sized dolphin fish. We all saw it jump out of the water at about 20 metres away, and I got it all the way up to the boat - - but the hook was too small and it bent & broke off the hook when yanked out of the actual water close to the boat.

Later in the day however we drove past a “boil up” (bird circling, and white tips everywhere where smaller bait fish have been forced to the surface by bigger fish) – and four of the lines all went off at once. It was allll happening. I had the biggest gauge reel (heaviest line), so I was supposed to fight hardest to get my fish in quickest. After much grunting and Lleyton Hewitt style “C’mon!!”’s – I had caught myself a 19.4kg Yellowfin tuna. Of the 4 lines, we managed (through skill of 1st mate etc.) to get 3 fish in. All around the same size…



Messy, hot, fun, excellent day out with some lads on a special boat. Big thanks to the friends (Alex), the first mate/teacher (Josh), Chef/2nd mate – (John) and of course to the Cap-i-tan. Top day out.

Some of the photo’s are up here.

Go you Anglicans (Condoms & PNG)...

Bishop Peter is a cool guy.

[from PNG Gossip column & Post Courier]

The Government has asked the churches and all faith organisations to forget about their religious and moral biases and start endorsing the 100 percent use of condoms to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country. Churches have not given total support to the call. The Catholic Archbishop of Port Moresby, Sir Brian Barnes, has said that the call was rather insensitive to say not to worry about religion biases. Sir Brian has said that the issue was not one of condom use but rather one of the behaviour of human beings. Anglican Bishop of Port Moresby, Peter Fox, has said that the use of condoms was a matter of freedom of choice.

Air Niugini has just moved their Cairns, Australia office. The old office is tipped to become a condom shop so it is good to see Air Niugini helping out.

Madang MP - argh

[From the PNG Gossip column]

The Madang MP and Governor, James Yali sentenced to a 12 year jail sentence for raping a young girl, his sister-in-law, has been enjoying several trips to Madang town much to the disgust of law abiding residents. It would seem that the MP is getting preferential treatment from the Correctional Services Officers. On a recent trip to town the MP visited the doctor and managed to see many of his supporters at the surgery after the doctor had gone to lunch.
The Correctional Services Commissioner, Richard Sikani, has said that Mr Yali will now be transferred to Bihute Jail in the Eastern Highlands Province to try and avoid some of the issues with relatives and supporters meeting Mr Yali while he is attending the doctors etc.

A Dry Hagen… x2

Mt Hagen is PNG’s 3rd largest city. The road from Lae (coastal up north in the middle where I am) to Hagen (centre of the mountains bit) was closed for a week or so due to land-slips recently. So they were without fuel there for a little bit – and a few other exported produce things weren’t making it through.

Hagen is also a "dry" alcohol town. A friend who’s been living up there for the past 2 and a half years put it "that alcohol and the sometimes belligerent attitude in the highlands" don’t tend to mix well. I don't know how accurate that generalisation is... That said, apparently there's plenty of homebrews' or smoker of what is apparently top quality marijuana (PNG Gold or something). There’s also the “Hagen Club” – priv. club full of expats and/or better off nationals. I imagine it’s a bit like the yacht club here in Lae – if smaller.

But the latest news was that for the last three days of this week (just finished), the town has also been without running water anywhere! A group of locals up the road decided that they weren’t getting enough for their land rentals (and a few other askims) and took over the pumping station – switching things off for a while – holding the whole town to ransom. Heh… somehow that appeals to my sense of humor – but it also meant that schools were all closed (none of the toilets worked), and everyone went without showers for a few days...

Dry, dry Hagen. But just now back to normal running water is back. I haven't yet read how many 000's of Kina they paid to the poeple who had occupied the pumping station thingy. Did anyone get that in the paper?

Better than I could put it [HealthCare - PNG]

Fellow volunteer up in Goroka who writes regularly - thought I'd link up this post.

Of course... there's LOTS of good stuff up on her site.

Poser books – I love em’

A close friend told me the other day they did this survey once of travelling backpackers – and asked what reasoning came into buying a book. One of the highest reasons was how it would look. I have no problem with this theory.

Witness.

This book certainly falls into that category. Check it out – “The end of poverty”. (!). I mean – my house will be chic, and there will be curio’s --cough-- Anyways, I’m half-way through it and I feel like I’m drowning in Keynes and hyper-inflated ego’s talking about success stories in countries torn at one stage by hyper-inflation – but places which are still experiencing bone-crushing poverty. I’m going to give this book till it’s end, then write a proper review. So far, I *might* find this useful if I was a 1st year Economics student who already thought he had it figured out... I’m hoping it will broaden out.

But I just had to get that off my chest – feeling much better now.

Bananarama Buns in My Oven…

This is not a particularly interesting post. I have had muffin mania before, but now I'm have a short bread phase. I inherited a large, large, large bag of wholemeal flour from Martin & Aileen. It resides in a large, large, large sealable bucket in the corner of the kitchen. It is my mission to finish this bag of flour in the next 2 months.

Here’s the banana bread recipe:

Here’s midway:

Here’s the result:

Making tasty bread from scratch is pretty satisfying actually! Pity about the number of dishes it creates...

[Update] Made another batch the next night (last night) – and added chopped Dates to one lot and a cup of sultana’s to the other mix – hopefully noice.

Religion – at work?

There are some topics in PNG, or perhaps anywhere, where it’s really hard to get started. But this one requires some further blogging. More than anytime before in my life, except perhaps as a PK in the early years - it’s all around me, day to day in work, home, compound… There are lots of things to say – but I keep feeling like it all needs lots of qualifications, otherwise writing it down doesn’t ‘get it’. But perhaps it’s not so different around the table in Melbourne when talking the church-y talk! Or perhaps it’s the same old insecurities.

So I work for the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea – which is a kind of religious experience in itself. I work in a National Office responsible for many administrative policies/payments and stuff across the whole of the country. I don’t work specifically for the Diocese of Popondota (one of 5), which has specific responsibility to the 40+ odd parishes within it, so there’s not direct parish issues/contact very often (except on my compound – see below)… and I don’t work specifically for the Education Division, or for the Anglican Health Service, or directly for the HIV/AIDS programs - but have some finance & admin oversight/responsibilities with all of them –: that is, social programs and parish workings.

So I work for a church as it is in PNG – and (especially/even) as a Christian it was kinda weird to reconcile this in my head before coming over here – and even more so since. Mostly I’m getting at the fact that the church comes with a lot of baggage, particularly in a mission setting.

The major chunk of Overseas funding that’s coming through to the churches over here at the moment is Ausaid “Church Partnerships Program” funds. It’s come out a recognition that over here, a church can build a building for about ¼ or half the cost of government/private - - and that in many places, the church is the only organised “in” to rural communities which are without basic services.

So, sometimes it seems so positive. At a recent large consultation it was said that many people couldn’t separate the sacred from the issues surrounding these ‘non-evangelism’ issues like health/education/HIV. Sometimes there’s parts and times that make sense. I might have thought – but not so at all when I’m actually here… the funding differences, and the intertwining people and places of the church in PNG aren’t that straightforward.

But perhaps I’m being a bit esoteric n indulgent there!

Here on the compound at the All Souls Parish there’s a lot of church. There’s a Tuesday night mass, a Thursday night mass, morning prayers some days (not sure which) and x2 services on Sunday morning (first is at 7:45am – before it gets too hot). I go about every second week to one of these things... but at least twice a week (normally 3) in the Anglican National Office, the staff and I say the morning prayers as written in the Anglican prayer book – and read the bible verses as dictated by the lectionary – and say prayers for the world, specific parts of PNG, and the needs of the community (Friday’s are education for example – Monday’s are for those in the world struggling with Health issues and HIV/AIDS). I struggled to get into them in the beginning - - but then you start to get into the rhythm (and you get to know them very, very well) of this long morning liturgy. With the previous x2 bosses, they used to do this every day of the week. They take about 15 minutes each morning.

It’s very different to Oz. On and off for 5 years I used to get a lot from the 5pm services at Collins Street Bapo – though I had my moments of frustration there like anywhere. I certainly don’t connect intellectually with the sermons or even liturgy in the same way over here… but at the same time when you’re in a group of 300-400 PNG people singing acapella – well there’s something there also.

Of course, there’s a definite un-coolness factor associated with it too in Oz – where post-modernity and the enlightenment have had a few more generations to take hold (or somesuch bs). Lotsa people still give it a bit of respect – but most just think of Fred Nile (quick sorry to those who like him, but in the main I don’t), rather than Mandela – or George W instead of Martin Luther. Easy targets all of them, but so ridiculously different you wonder where the title/understanding of the word Christian gets you – and therefore where ‘working with a church organisation’ gets you. A group of friends I know are having a party soon where they’ll re-enact (for a laugh) people in different poses on a large wooden cross in their back yard on Easter Friday. I had to bottle it up a little when they were on about it, as I found myself (perhaps?) “doing a Muslim cartoon over-reaction” and actually getting a little angry about it – think’in about how bad taste it was to re-enact a death, let alone something held as important by so many people etc. etc.

[Insert later – on that topic of religo’s gettin there nigglers - did anyone watch ‘Insight’ on SBS on Tuesday night last about cartoons, race over-reactions and Cronulla/etc.?? – far out there were some t***ers in there]

Anyways – I’m off track – what I’m getting at is that you _wouldn’t_ do that here in PNG. What I’m also getting at is that in most of PNG (ex-pat community excluded from this comment), from what I can tell, you’d be on the outside if you _weren’t_ Christian. Where’s the coolness factor there? Well – it’s probably changing in PNG as well – but it’s well different to Oz.

What does this all mean?? Dunno. Extraordinarily rambling, perhaps overly personal blog late on a Tuesday night. I’ll just have get back to you!

Genius Ideas – A tribute

There’s only one way to give a hint as to the contents of this once-per-year-Christmas-special CD/DVD that a friend of mine put’s out – and it’s here in this picture.



Jokes, pictures, videos, fan-films… kooky, crazy, horror… it’s all in there in one form of another. I’m only popping it up here now because the original post to me didn’t make it through the PNG postal service (or perhaps Aussie customs, who knows…). SO have only just had a look through.

Nice work Aaron.

Back Again – just a catch-up blog

Been a slack month on the blog front. Funny how the busiest time (theoretically with the most stories and blog stuff) ends up being the one you end up writing down the least.

Roight – so I was ultra-mega-man busy in January with Anglican work stuff. Trying to kick in a new calendar year end across accounts, settling in two new staff members, having a drink now and then with friends in Lae (mostly Alex&Jonix)… Eventually after the last week of ‘just a few’ late work sessions I went to Oz (sorry to those I didn’t get to call/see) to see the lady (mostly), to make sure Flan & Cazz were safely married (yayayay – great day), and do some quick catch-ups. It was a bit surreal being back again (bright lights! bright lights!), but grrrrrrrreat to see everyone. Likely a lot longer than that 3-4 months before the next visit.

So I got back to PNG about a week ago – and had about half a day to catch my breath before trucking head-long into a 5 day meeting/workshop/consultation with about 42 Anglicans from around the country. Although the consultation was out at a pastoral training centre (place is run by the Catholics – nice, but basic stuff, reminded me of those church camps), it was also (9miles away) in ‘my’ home office town – so there were the inevitable runs back to the office and askims around town. The meeting overall was all about getting a feeling for the priorities over the next few years for a stack of Ausaid funding. Meetings/training during the day, dinner, and then more meetings/chats after dinner about the programs.

La de da – many-an-observation to make when the eventual topic of Ausaid funding comes up. Words like “capacity building/Institutional strengthening/sustainability” – but I probably shouldn’t prattle about work too much here. Suffice to say I’m amazed and humbled sometimes by how effective and useful aid can sometimes be – and amazed and humbled at how useless in the long term it can sometimes be. I think that’s a truism. But I’m not sure. On the topic, here’s a development poem a good friend working in the area sent around the other day on the email.

The Development Set

By Ross Coggins

Excuse me, friends, I must catch my jet-
I'm off to join the Development Set;
My bags are packed, and I've had all my shots,
I have travelers' checks, and pills for the trots
The Development Set is bright and noble,
Our thoughts are deep and our vision global;
Although we move with the better classes,
Our thoughts are always with the masses.
In Sheraton hotels in scattered nations,
We damn multinational corporations;
Injustice seems so easy to protest,
In such seething hotbeds of social rest.
We discuss malnutrition over steaks
And plan hunger talks during coffee breaks.
Whether Asian floods or African drought,
We face each issue with an open mouth.
We bring in consultants whose circumlocution
Raises difficulties for every solution-
Thus guaranteeing continued good eating
By showing the need for another meeting.
The language of the Development Set
Stretches the English alphabet;
We use swell words like 'epigenetic',
'Micro', 'Macro'. and 'logarithmetic'.
Development Set homes are extremely chic,
Full of carvings, curios and draped with batik.
Eye-level photographs subtly assure
That your host is at home with the rich and the poor.
Enough of these verses -- on with the mission!
Our task is as broad as the human condition!
Just parry to God the biblical promise is true:
The poor ye shall always have with you.

That biblical quote is entirely out of context, of course, but anyhoo's.

Sooooooo – will try and get some more of the photo’s n observations up again soon. Till then...