The AWMC recently took part in a fundraising concert in support of the school in Buna, Papua New Guinea. The following is an account of a subsequent visit to the region by Peter Nicholls.

A VISIT TO BUNA

Dear Friends,

Sat 24 May I received an email from Erastus in Pt Moresby, that the container was finally being moved from Lae to Oro Bay & would arrive on Thursday 29 May.

PANIC set in but with the help of Colin at Ambassador Travel & Flinders College (Byron Groves) I flew out at 5am Tuesday. Overnight in Pt Moresby with Erastus, Joyce & their family to fly to Popondetta at 4am Wednesday morning.

Popondetta airport met by another family member (brother) Horalian, with members of the disaster relief organisation , Paul Pukari & his son.

After checking into the hotel I was taken to the shipping container office to be told the container was delayed ?????, no assistance was offered to help us locate the missing ship., then on to the disaster relief centre to meet other relief workers & a delegation from the United Nations.

The remainder of Wednesday was spent on a fact finding mission with the UN to remote parts of PNG.The 2 UN vehicles were new land cruisers while ours , a beautiful 30 year old 4wd.

Four hours of teeth chattering , bone jarring, chiropractic damaging roads found us travelling down a steep incline with steam arising from under the bonnet as if Aladdin had released a genie. . Further investigation revealed the front brakes were on fire & in typical PNG resourcefulness we rolled down the hill 200 meters to the river where coolant was applied straight from the river to the brakes.

At this point in time, with the disappointment of not knowing the whereabouts of the container , the UN in their air-conditioned luxury leaving us in the wake of their dust, little sleep for the last 4 days I wondered what I was doing ? My thoughts were, I am only one person not belonging to any organisation, I am completely out of my depth ! ! what can I possibly do???

Then from nowhere appeared a group of school children from 6 to 10 years old & there teacher & I was reminded why I was there , my mission & how damn fortunate I am & we are to live in Australia.

Continuing on our way we approached a river (The Pungani ) ,before the flood some 20 meters wide with a bridge, now over 2 kilometres wide strewn with trees & rocks washed down from the mountains some 40 KLM away. The magnitude of the destruction & power of natures forces is beyond belief.

Our next stop & destination was a care centre called Saba. This was established to accommodate a village of 500 people. I spoke to & recorded a conversation with a young mum from the care centre. Paul Pakaru asked her to speak freely & honestly as I was not from the UN (they had moved off to inspect another part of the centre) or the government , she would not be in any trouble.

What she said alarmed & distressed me (this is all recorded on video ) They received 10 kg of rice per month for the 500 people, half a bag of clothing & have had nothing for 3 months. they are subsistence farmers , the soil is so poor where they have been sent that the crops have failed , other than taro. They have little water in a makeshift well & insufficient supplies to last through summer. Their old village , all homes were destroyed & is now a swamp with no hope of returning. The land they are on is privately owned with the land owner fighting with the government wanting them off his land.

This is a typical story of all the villages we visited . Insufficient food , water, medical supplies. Temporary housing consisted of them being given blue tarps.
The main road to Popondetta had been cleared leaving a 3meter high barricade of logs & silt on either side stretching hundreds of kilometres. Children with no schools, homes,clothing & insufficient food & water.

A shower & bed was now a high priority, but on closing my eyes the images I witnessed today & the disappointment of the container not arriving erased any abilities I had to sleep. Morning finally arrived & I arose with a promise to myself that all would improve. ( A Jewish friend once told me "when you are flat out on your back there is only one way to look " )

Today, Thursday was the day the container was to arrive ??? no it didn't !! The brakes were to be fixed in 1 hour >>>>>>>> 4 hours later & 2 litres of oil in the diff we left for Buna escorted by 2 police officers (this is a whole new story of political unrest in the village & far to lengthy & complicated for my slow 2 fingered typing, those interested I shall fill you in personally).

My arrival in Buna was of a kind reserved for heads of state or royalty. I was humbled & reduced to tears. To be shown such love & generosity from a people who had lost everything only 5 months earlier was something I cannot begin to put words to.

On arriving at a place I didn't recognise I was asked to alight from the vehicle & greeted by children & adults in traditional clothing. The chief of the village greeted me with flowers placed around our necks were led through a guard of honour made by the school children, to a podium erected in front of the previously unused classrooms. While drinking coconut milk prior to the welcoming speeches I realised the area I didn't recognise was in fact the teachers homes, library & classrooms that 2years ago were overgrown by 2 meter tall rush grass with only the roof visible.

I am now gazing in sheer delight at garden beds teachers homes well under way to being completed a flag pole with our flag & the PNG flag side by side . The container may not have arrived but my original dream to finish the classrooms , Library & teachers homes was starting to come true. The children now singing Advance Australia Fair reduced me to tears I had trouble containing. Again I had to remind myself these people had lost everything 5 months ago. The rest of that day was spent meeting the heads of the village , & catching up with old friends.

I requested a meeting with the village elders that night & at 8pm sat down with 12 elders. I explained our efforts at the concert & funds raised. The clothing collected & container filled with supplies for the village & school.Suggested the establishment of a toy library & its operations ( toys donated & in the container ) dispelled any fears they had of other "Village Members" contributing to the container (again another political story ). I challenged them as parents to put their grievances & disputes asides to finish the buildings by the 26 June 2008 when Nick Toovey arrives from Flinders College.

I explained how the next concert would assist in the building of 2 new classrooms, 2 of the very old ones were destroyed in the flood. Please keep in mind that the younger children sit on the dirt floor in their class. This school of 137 students has one boys & one girls toilet (these are holes in the ground). As they had no sporting equipment I had one of the teachers returning from Popondetta purchase volley ,rugby& basketballs 2 nets &2 softball sets & whistles (a total of $A 210.00 ).

Friday morning I spent talking to the students in their class answering questions about the container , Australia , Teale & their other friends from Aus. The one common request the children had was for school uniforms. I thought that perhaps over the next few years the uniforms given back to the school, or thrown away & those from lost property could perhaps be sent to Buna??

Friday night came all to quickly (after flying the kite with the children that Brae had sent over & viewing the damage to the village from the flood.) another feast was prepared in my honour . After the meal a tiny portable TV was set up out doors to have a movie night under the stars with 90% of the village crammed around the tiny screen.

Bed at 1 30 am to be up at 3am for the trip to Popondetta airport. I arrived at Cairns at mid day grateful to see the shower . There are so many other stories to recall this is a lengthy BRIEF summary. Perhaps a video night may be in order at Flinders???

Lastly I will list the aid given to Buna during the disaster so you may get a better understanding of the hardship they have had to endure.

19/11/07 ~ 20 x 10kg rice .
29/11 ~ 15 x 1 kg rice .
3/12 ~ 40 x 10kg rice ,5 cartons water,3 cartons tuna, 1 carton biscuits,1 medical kit.
11/12 ~ 40 x 10 kg rice, 12.5 kg salt, 25 x 425g tins tuna, 10 litre cooking oil, 10 x20 litre water.
14/12 50 x 10 kg rice no further aid has been sent ...

THIS IS FOR A VILLAGE SOME 1300 PEOPLE.


Sunday the 5th October is the next concert at the George Jenkins theatre Frankston , I hope you can be there to help support these beautiful people.

Peter Nicholls