One of the things I told my family before deciding to volunteer on the other side of the world was that if they ever needed me I would come home. James Taylor sang it best, Just call out my name and you know where ever I am I’ll come running to see you again.
I'll be going home on a one month leave and will return to PNG the first week in August.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Save the Children
Recently I have been working on a Peer Counseling project with Save the Children. First we did a one week workshop targeting the training of trainers. These trainers are current staff members of Save the Children from all across PNG. The goal is for the trainers to gain skills in counseling and apply these skills in their daily work as well as train volunteers in the Youth Outreach Projects throughout the Country.
Save the Children in PNG targets the impact of the HIV and AIDS epidemic on children. Save’s programs focus on promoting HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for vulnerable parents such as female sex workers and men who have sex with men, vulnerable future parents (youth) and vulnerable children.
Save the Children in PNG’s projects include the Poro Sapot (Supporting Friends) Project, the Youth Outreach Project, the Tingim Laip (Think about Life) Project, STI (Sexually Transmitted Infections) Clinical Improvement Project, and a project to work with (OVC) Orphans and Vulnerable Children.
My work here in Madang promoting Inclusive Education aligns with Save the Children’s work including children’s right to health, education, protection and survival.
This week I have been supporting the trainers to facilitate the first Peer Counseling program in PNG! There are 20 volunteers in the Youth Outreach Project here in Madang. These 15-25 year olds are out-of-school, jobless youths who are vulnerable to the HIV epidemic and its impact on their lives.
Working with the incredible staff of Save the Children has opened my eyes to a new reality here in PNG. They are working in urban centers such as markets and bus stops that are notorious for at-risk behaviors including prostitution and drug-use. Save is also working in rural areas with community outreach and rural health projects. The real stories they share touch me.
A staff member in Morseby told me about his struggles within the Poro Sapot Project targeting sex workers. He said there are a significant number of people who are living with HIV/AIDS and because of negative stigma their families have abandoned them and they are forced to live on the streets. The homeless are reduced to roaming alleys and eating only if they are lucky to find something in the trash that day. They aren’t able to take their ARV treatment because they become nauseous and sick if it isn’t taken with food. They are forced to make the decision to sell sex for money to buy food in order to take their medicine. This vicious cycle unfortunately continues to spread the virus among these vulnerable groups.
Another staff member in Moresby working with the Poro Sapot targeting men who have sex with men spoke about the daily challenges he and his friends face. As homosexuality is illegal in PNG, these men face stigma regarding their HIV status as well as their sexual orientation. This inspirational staff member has found ways to support men from around the Country through involvement in activities such as support groups, camping trips, and even a Ms. Universe pageant. Because these men are unable to express themselves openly in their communities, these activities help to create safe environments where their rights are respected.
Most of the staff shared stories about people with mental illnesses. Mental Health is an interesting topic in PNG. Word both on the street and within hospitals, organizations and individuals working within the mental health field here in PNG is that mental illnesses are a result of drug and alcohol abuse, with a particular focus on marijuana use. The belief (the misconception in my opinion) is that people who are “longlong” (the slang pidgin word meaning ‘crazy’) have become this way because of marijuana. Society stigmatizes persons with mental illness in the same manner people with HIV/AIDS and disabilities are stigmatized. These people are rejected from their families, homes and communities and may be left on the streets, thrown in the sea, or hidden in the house.
Increasing my awareness of these realities helps me to apply my work in a more practical way that will hopefully address the real needs of the vulnerable groups I support.
Save the Children in PNG targets the impact of the HIV and AIDS epidemic on children. Save’s programs focus on promoting HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for vulnerable parents such as female sex workers and men who have sex with men, vulnerable future parents (youth) and vulnerable children.
Save the Children in PNG’s projects include the Poro Sapot (Supporting Friends) Project, the Youth Outreach Project, the Tingim Laip (Think about Life) Project, STI (Sexually Transmitted Infections) Clinical Improvement Project, and a project to work with (OVC) Orphans and Vulnerable Children.
My work here in Madang promoting Inclusive Education aligns with Save the Children’s work including children’s right to health, education, protection and survival.
This week I have been supporting the trainers to facilitate the first Peer Counseling program in PNG! There are 20 volunteers in the Youth Outreach Project here in Madang. These 15-25 year olds are out-of-school, jobless youths who are vulnerable to the HIV epidemic and its impact on their lives.
Working with the incredible staff of Save the Children has opened my eyes to a new reality here in PNG. They are working in urban centers such as markets and bus stops that are notorious for at-risk behaviors including prostitution and drug-use. Save is also working in rural areas with community outreach and rural health projects. The real stories they share touch me.
A staff member in Morseby told me about his struggles within the Poro Sapot Project targeting sex workers. He said there are a significant number of people who are living with HIV/AIDS and because of negative stigma their families have abandoned them and they are forced to live on the streets. The homeless are reduced to roaming alleys and eating only if they are lucky to find something in the trash that day. They aren’t able to take their ARV treatment because they become nauseous and sick if it isn’t taken with food. They are forced to make the decision to sell sex for money to buy food in order to take their medicine. This vicious cycle unfortunately continues to spread the virus among these vulnerable groups.
Another staff member in Moresby working with the Poro Sapot targeting men who have sex with men spoke about the daily challenges he and his friends face. As homosexuality is illegal in PNG, these men face stigma regarding their HIV status as well as their sexual orientation. This inspirational staff member has found ways to support men from around the Country through involvement in activities such as support groups, camping trips, and even a Ms. Universe pageant. Because these men are unable to express themselves openly in their communities, these activities help to create safe environments where their rights are respected.
Most of the staff shared stories about people with mental illnesses. Mental Health is an interesting topic in PNG. Word both on the street and within hospitals, organizations and individuals working within the mental health field here in PNG is that mental illnesses are a result of drug and alcohol abuse, with a particular focus on marijuana use. The belief (the misconception in my opinion) is that people who are “longlong” (the slang pidgin word meaning ‘crazy’) have become this way because of marijuana. Society stigmatizes persons with mental illness in the same manner people with HIV/AIDS and disabilities are stigmatized. These people are rejected from their families, homes and communities and may be left on the streets, thrown in the sea, or hidden in the house.
Increasing my awareness of these realities helps me to apply my work in a more practical way that will hopefully address the real needs of the vulnerable groups I support.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Time. A month. A year.
How does one measure time? Joshua is beginning to walk. My hair has grown to my shoulders again. My tube of toothpaste is crinkled and my shampoo is balanced upside down in the shower. My Dad is back to cutting hay in the fields just as the day I said goodbye and turned to the next chapter in my life.
I can hardly believe it's been a month since my last post. Even harder to believe that a year has come and gone since I arrived in Papua New Guinea. Some days I feel as if time is flying by..these are usually the good days. Maybe a teacher used a strategy I taught or a parent felt empowered to enroll her child with a disability in school. Other days I feel as if time is standing still here in PNG while the world, and particularly everyone and everything at home, is changing so quickly.
Time is an interesting concept here in PNG.
Cletus, our knowledgeable guide on our trip up the Sepik River this past week, had a very different concept of time as we quickly discovered. As Westerners we felt the need to know what time we would leave the village in the morning and how many hours it would take for us to canoe to the next village. Cletus, in his best attempt to satisfy what I assumed he thought was an irrational need, would say “We will leave after breakfast around 6 or 7:30 arriving in the next village in 2-4 hours.” Distances and time…..being an experienced guide Cletus knew general markers such as morning and afternoon would not be enough for tourists. We needed numbers and exact times and a map and a plan. So that’s what we got, but my traveling friends found this broad time range even more frustrating and continued to question the time they should set their alarms and any deviation from “the plan.” Wise Cletus knows nothing is ever exact or planned in PNG, especially on the Sepik. And as for myself, who is habitually late and lives for spontaneity, find I fit better in the South in this regard.
Take the time. Sit and tok stori, tell stories. Shake hands with strangers, ask questions, listen to the birds sing and the children play. Otherwise life will pass you by. I will quickly forget the names of the 5 destinations we highlighted on the map, but I will never forget the newly initiated young man covered in pukpuk (crocodile) cuttings telling me the history of his ancestors settling the land. It’s the unexpected events that mark time in ones life, the moments of surprise. Bathing in the river where the villagers used the toilet and reaching a low spot in the river and having to get out and push the boat through the mud. These events, mishaps, adventures.. whatever you would call them.. were definitely not included in the plan, but these are the stories we find ourselves sharing about our time on the Sepik River.
And speaking of time…once I find some more I will write and tell you all about our trip on the Sepik. The landscape, the fauna, the people, the fish, the canoes, the art, the spirit houses!
I can hardly believe it's been a month since my last post. Even harder to believe that a year has come and gone since I arrived in Papua New Guinea. Some days I feel as if time is flying by..these are usually the good days. Maybe a teacher used a strategy I taught or a parent felt empowered to enroll her child with a disability in school. Other days I feel as if time is standing still here in PNG while the world, and particularly everyone and everything at home, is changing so quickly.
Time is an interesting concept here in PNG.
Cletus, our knowledgeable guide on our trip up the Sepik River this past week, had a very different concept of time as we quickly discovered. As Westerners we felt the need to know what time we would leave the village in the morning and how many hours it would take for us to canoe to the next village. Cletus, in his best attempt to satisfy what I assumed he thought was an irrational need, would say “We will leave after breakfast around 6 or 7:30 arriving in the next village in 2-4 hours.” Distances and time…..being an experienced guide Cletus knew general markers such as morning and afternoon would not be enough for tourists. We needed numbers and exact times and a map and a plan. So that’s what we got, but my traveling friends found this broad time range even more frustrating and continued to question the time they should set their alarms and any deviation from “the plan.” Wise Cletus knows nothing is ever exact or planned in PNG, especially on the Sepik. And as for myself, who is habitually late and lives for spontaneity, find I fit better in the South in this regard.
Take the time. Sit and tok stori, tell stories. Shake hands with strangers, ask questions, listen to the birds sing and the children play. Otherwise life will pass you by. I will quickly forget the names of the 5 destinations we highlighted on the map, but I will never forget the newly initiated young man covered in pukpuk (crocodile) cuttings telling me the history of his ancestors settling the land. It’s the unexpected events that mark time in ones life, the moments of surprise. Bathing in the river where the villagers used the toilet and reaching a low spot in the river and having to get out and push the boat through the mud. These events, mishaps, adventures.. whatever you would call them.. were definitely not included in the plan, but these are the stories we find ourselves sharing about our time on the Sepik River.
And speaking of time…once I find some more I will write and tell you all about our trip on the Sepik. The landscape, the fauna, the people, the fish, the canoes, the art, the spirit houses!
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