Australian volunteers in PNG
MARION Jacka and Kevin Cotter are Australian volunteers who, collectively, have been working in PNG for the last seven years.
The two were in the FM 100 studios on March 13, to share their PNG experiences with Roger Hau’ofa as part of the Australian High Commission’s Australia Week celebrations.
“I worked with disturbed and marginalised young men in Australia, and it’s just so different working with boys of the same age here in PNG. And I don’t mean the obvious cultural differences,” says Kevin, farm manager at the City Mission New Life Farm just outside of Port Moresby.
“These boys are like big sponges. We only have Sundays off, and some mornings I’ll go down to the farm to do some weeding, or plant new seeds, that kind of thing - when I look up 20 minutes later, there’ll be a group of six or seven boys standing around me wanting to know what I’m doing. They just have such a hunger to learn.”
Christian James, a Remote Area Nurse working in Alotau, and Jules Kornaat who works with the National Performing Arts Troupe (NPAT) in Goroka made up the rest of the four-person volunteer panel when they phoned in to take part in the talk-back show.
Jules, who volunteers through Australian Volunteers International, spent her early childhood in Rabaul, East New Britain province. Her parents worked there in the 1970s and she treasures her memories of the colourful tales her parents shared with friends and the wonderful slideshows they’d show.
“Being able to come back and work in PNG is a privilege,” says Jules. “Each day brings new and different challenges and I enjoy assisting members of the Company write proposals for funding, and sharing skills with them so that they can manage their own projects.”
The NPAT, formerly known as the Raun Raun Theatre, uses the medium of drama to inform and educate communities on issues such as alcohol and drug abuse, violence, law and order, and HIV and AIDS, and preserving PNG culture.
For Christian, who is also an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development, volunteering with the St Barnabas School of Nursing in Milne Bay, PNG is a unique experience.
“PNG is an incredible country. Full of beauty - whether it’s the people, the scenery or the culture,” he says.
He set himself a few goals, before arriving in the country in October last year, and one of those was to play football with the local people. Not just for fitness, but as an important way to build relationships with the community.
Christian remembers that when he started training, it was a novelty for the team and community to have a ‘dimdim’ [Milne Bay for white person] on the team.
“After a couple of weeks that soon wore off and they realised I was here to stay, and hence become a part of the team,” he says.
The team participated in the Provincial Seven aside rugby tournament, won the tournament undefeated after three weeks of matches, and were invited to Port Moresby for the national titles.
“No Milne bay team had ever been invited or participated in this competition at a national level before so we travelled to Moresby as virtual unknowns. We managed to make the grand final, but unfortunately lost to Kimbe.”
But Christian’s involvement with the team has paid off in other ways. He used sport as a way to get his team mates to talk about issues affecting them.
“We’d spend 10-15 minutes warming down and stretching, and I’d use this time to talk about school work, respect, gender issues, sexual relationships, HIV and AIDS, even nutrition. It’s hard to research results from this form of education, but I’ve found that education is better tolerated and understood when there is mutual respect. This respect was not in the form of a teacher, a health worker, but, as a friend and team-mate.”
Marion Jacka’s job takes her right into the heart of communities.
Marion started working with the Department for Community Development two years ago on developing and implementing a policy that will target communities and help people at the grassroots level to set up centres and organisations to meet their needs.
Part of her job involves running management courses for community leaders.
“The success of the centres, and ultimately the policy, depends on these people. I also facilitate workshops where we get people thinking about - what’s available in your community, and how can you use it to meet the needs you’ve identified - and their resourcefulness and creativity never fails to impress me.”
Marion previously worked as a trade unionist with the performing arts union in Australia, and did policy and research work in the broadcasting and media industries. Before coming to PNG, she completed a Masters in International Social Development at the University of New South Wales.
The Australian Government, through its aid program, funds volunteer placements through Australian Volunteers International (AVI), Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD), Australian Business Volunteers (ABV), and Volunteering for International Development from Australia (VIDA).
Through this support since the 1960s, over 11,400 volunteers have been placed overseas.
“Volunteers add a really human dimension to the aid program and show the commitment of Australians to the development of PNG,” says Margaret Thomas, the head of Australia’s aid program in PNG.
“In a very tangible way, Australian volunteers are demonstrating our commitment to meeting common challenges and raising the living standards of people throughout the country.”
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