Buk Bilong Pikinini

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www.bukbilongpikinini.org

Last weekend we ventured out to the Botanical Gardens for the Buk Bilong Pikinini Teddy Bears Picnic.  Buk Bilong Pikinini (Childrens Library) only started a few years ago and is doing amazing work delivering literacy to kids here in PNG.  The Teddy Bears picnic is a fundraiser, and a great (all be it hot and humid) day out with the kids starting at 9:30 in the morning and finishing before we cook at 1:00pm.  The heat and humidity in the Botanical Gardens is something else…

We took Jono, V and Talia along as it was Talia’s 2nd birhday the other week, and of course a lot of people we know; including the newly arrived AJ and Kye (with family) and Dan and Amira (with kids)  both of which contacted Jacinta and myself through our blogs.  And of course Jenny and Adam with thier tribe, with a number of other regulars there too. 

Talia had never been to the Gardens, so she exhausted herself very quickly, it was so nice to see Xaria and Talia both playing so well together, there is only a month between them 🙂

Tomorrow we are off to the Kiwi Club Waitangi Day Hangi, which was meant to be on Waitangi Day, but was rained off. If you ever want to go to Kiwi Club events, get in quick they sell out REAL fast.  We are lucky as the VP of the club Leonie lives in the same compound as us, and of course, we are Kiwi Club members 🙂  So tomorrow, we will satisfy Jacinta’s Hangi cravings, I will be put to work carving meat, and then I’ll try and take as many photos as I can.

In just 3 short weeks, we will be having our first ever proper family holiday.  And I do mean first ever….  We have always done the couple of days away, or stayed with whanau, but this time its 2 weeks onthe Gold Coast!  yay!  We can’t get away from the whanau thing though, with most of Jacinta’s family coming too, but what the hell, more the merrier eh…  and JB and myself might be able to sneak off to hit the Gold Coast night clubs.. yeah right.

I did take some photos of us at the Botanical Gardens, here is a fine selection 🙂

 

Susu Mama’s Ball

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 Last week, Jacinta and myself went to the Susu Mama’s ball.  What a fantastic night!  We were lucky in that Maria our Haus Meri was very happy to come and babysit.

Susu Mama’s is a fantasitic organisation that assists new mums with their babies. Mortality rates here in PNG are very high – 2nd highest worldwide!  And I bet that is really the tip of the iceberg…  Both mum and bubs have very high chances of not surviving childbirth.

In the past few months, our buai seller’s wife Latu gave birth to her second baby.  The cost was astronomical, and they were lucky that their expat employer assisted with the costs.  One of my staff Jamin – his partner just gave birth the other week, 6 weeks early, by emergency c-section.  Jacinta and myself have been very concerned for a while as Amelia was extremely swollen, high blood pressure etc.  thankfully Amelia went home the other day – but it could easily have turned to custard.

One of my other staff Geraldine, is 7 months pregnant.. With twins..  Has only just found out, so I got her to go see the team at Susu Mama’s – she said that they were fantastic..

if you want to support a good charity, Susu Mama’s needs all of our support

 

Aaron

Sad day yesterday

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Our aussie wantoks Lesley and Peter expatsinpng.wordpress.com are leaving PNG and going back to Brisbane.  Lesley and Jacinta have been really good friends, and I know that my wife is very sad 😦  Peter is a good mate, we are drinking buddies – and it’s always been great having someone to talk to about our life here.  We have very similar ideals, so I will really miss our Friday and Wednesday catchups.  On the bright side – someone else to see when we are in Brisbane 🙂

em tasol

ANZAC day at Bomana War Cemetery

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I was going to post last week on ANZAC day, but a crook guts on the day turned into a really bad gastro experience. With me still not over the effects of two months of malaria, needless to say – I was pretty stuffed… Poor Xanthe has had it rough as well, she is still off school – and hopefully will be OK for the family weekend trip to Cairns this weekend (I am not going – weekend of work…).

Back to ANZAC day… It was very weird being at really an Aussie Anzac day here in PNG, for me – I just didn’t find it as emotional as I normally am back in NZ. Anzac day in NZ is very different and feels more kiwi than Waitangi day. As ex-navy, I did parades on both days, and anzac day was always my favorite. It was surreal though at Bomana, which is the largest Aussie military cemetery outside Australia – and especially being there with our Aussie mates Peter and Lesley, and Adam and Jenny, and watching poor Ian in all his navy number 1s as part of the ceremony – it must have been bloody hot in that rig…

The morning started with a convoy of cars leaving Konedobu at 4am. Port Moresby was already awake, and as we got close to Bomana the crowds were getting bigger, so of course I wind down the window and said good morning to everyone. Yeah – there possibly wasn’t many strange kiwis with their windows down saying good morning, but I really appreciated the fact that PNG was being moved by Anzac day as well, and all these people were there paying their respects. The Kokoda campaign was 70 years ago so that made this very special for PNG.

It’s amazing really, if it weren’t for a bunch of Aussies, the fuzzy wuzzy angels, and the Kokoda trail, Australia might be Japanese now. New Zealand would have been next…. So, as Anzac’s we really owe PNG a lot – a lot more than we give…

One of the special things about anzac day for me, is not only reflecting and being proud of my grandfathers, but also all my old navy mates. I may not have much contact with them over the years – but there is always a beer and a bed at my place, and Anzac day makes me feel very proud that I served, and very proud of those I served with. Just a pity I cut my career short – but that’s another story…

Thanks for reading
Aaron

Wanna be an Expat in Port Moresby?

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So,

You want to be an expat, you look around and you find PNG, more specifically – you find Port Moresby.  Then you find a couple of websites like www.lonelyplanet.com, www.expatblog.com, and mine of course www.kiwiexpat.com you check out wikipedia and find that Port Moresby has a climate where it barely gets below 24 degrees (and thats when everyone gets hypothermia), and also that it is ranked by the Intelligence Unit of The Economist, as one of the world’s least livable cities (ranked 137 of 140 cities rated).

At this stage, you starting hunting around for the bad shit – as you do. And you see reports of sorcery, violence, rapes and murders.  You find out that expats live in secure compounds surrounded by razor wire, with 24 hour guards – and by all reports, you can’t drive anywhere without putting yourself in harms way.

And you either now decide “stuff that” or “sounds like a bit of a beat up” or “woohoo” or “what a load of bollocks – where is the real PNG”….

Then you post on a forum or two, completely ignoring the links to blogs or other posts, and if you are concerned – you regurgitate the same thing everyone wants to know.  Is Port Moresby a dangerous place?  Should I live there? ????????

Here is my advice if you are thinking about coming to PNG (Port Moresby)

  1. Research research research – you will find, the bad shit isn’t actually that bad.  We don’t get burgled in our homes (not often anyway – the security for our house is better than a bank in NZ), murders are generally payback (an eye for an eye), and unfortunately  the bad shit normally happens to local Papua New Guineans.  You will also find (when you research), what the tax rates are, how much it costs to live here, and what there is to do once you get here.
  2. Realise, that locals are (and should be) first in line for jobs.  If you come up here as a sales person in a store – you are taking a job away from a local, and increasing the cost of goods and services with your over-inflated package.  This just adds to poverty.  If you want to come here, please come with an attitude of wanting to help PNG.  Since I am an IT Manager, I often get emails from out of work software developers or IT administrators wanting to move to PNG, don’t even try….  IT is one place where we only need mentors to provide experience to Papua New Guineans, a lot of our graduates are struggling to find work.
  3. Become a mentor, give freely of your mind, time and experiences.
  4. Embrace PNG
  5. Share your adventure with the rest of the world, everyone reads about the shit side of PNG  not the good.  Spread the word!  PNG is one of the most amazing places on earth – it’s time the rest of the earth knew about it.

And if you want to ask questions, please get in contact 🙂

Aaron