A River Runs Round It

What's the value of an airstrip and flight service in PNG? Are they just there to make life easier for the expats?

Last week I got to stay a few nights in the village of one of the translators who currently relies on the helicopter for transportation. There is an airstrip near the village, but it is low-lying and has a river going around 3 sides, so floods regularly, making maintenance a big problem. Due to the softness of the ground, the airstrip has been closed for some time.

The current airstrip

So the community would like to build a new airstrip on a ridge closer to the village.

The site of the new airstrip with some of the trees cleared

The airstrip not only allows the translator to get in and out easier, but provides the area with a valuable service. Without the airstrip teachers and teaching materials for the local elementary school cannot go in and out. Without the airstrip the village is without supplies, other than those either grown in the area or walked in. Without the airstrip there is no way to evacuate medical patients with illnesses beyond the capabilities of the rural aid post. They cannot afford the cost of the helicopter, so there is 'hunger' (to use their word) for a new airstrip.

We set out to walk the new site and see what work would need to be done to turn the bush into a place suitable for an aircraft to land.

The ridge which it is hoped will be the site of the new runway

Unfortunately there are a few challenges ahead for the community as they prepare their new landing area. The first is that the ridge is not straight.

This gully will have to be filled in

At the start of the runway there are two such gullies to fill in - a lot of work for manual labour with just shovels and wheelbarrows to help! But even shovels and wheelbarrows need to come from somewhere and that's where one of our sister organisations can help - we had the Wycliffe Associates' program manager with us, who agreed to fund the supply and transport of the tools.

The second problem facing them is that, whilst the ridge won't suffer from flooding, the ground there is still soft.

Digging down to test to firmness of the sub-soil with the 'pogo stick' in the foreground

Also, not only will they have to finish clearing all the tress from the ridge, they will also need to dig out all the roots. If the roots are left in the ground, over time they'll rot and then that creates a soft area or hole on the airstrip. At best this means work filling in the hole, at worst an accident if an aircraft tyre drops into it on landing or take-off. Removing the roots can mean digging down as deep as a person is tall.

Tree roots around here are no small thing!

 Lastly, the ridge chosen is not quite as long as was hoped. 

This means the airstrip will have to be extended into more bush

And that there is another big gully which needs to be filled in

But there was still plenty of enthusiasm for construction, so the centreline was marked to show the workers where the airstrip will go.

The stick in the foreground had its bark cut to indicate the runway's path

A task of this size could take 10 - 15 years to complete. In the meantime there are plans to repair the existing strip so that flight services can resume, which will be even more work! What a 'hunger' the community must have for flights into their village. 

A meeting (inside the new literacy building) where the local community affirmed their commitment to the new airstrip

Solar System

How do you get clean water into a village house? How do you power a radio to keep everyone in touch with the world and call for help, if needed? How do you provide light to work in the evenings when co-workers have finished their day-time jobs or done their tending of their gardens? I'm sure you're ahead of me - a solar electricity system.

After I had joined in the initial survey for a new airstrip (see our next blog post for details of that) I had some time to help a colleague install a new solar power system for our host's house. They had one already, but of an old design and it wasn't really meeting their needs.

The old solar panels, with a few bits of the new system

As the village had had rain every day for the past 3 weeks, and we wouldn't have been able to work on a wet roof, we tried to do as much installing of the new system as possible before we removed the old one.

The first thing we had to do was screw in mounting brackets, but the roof is just made of corrugated iron. So, wood was cut to place inside the roof to take the screw-threads.

Thankfully some of the tools we were to take back with us were still available

The tools had been brought in to help construct a literacy building, in partnership with the local church; the one I had to sling the sawmill for previously.

The literacy building

It was great to be able to see at least the shell of the literacy building complete, having taken people and materials in and out over the past couple of months.

But back to the solar panels. Once the feet were securely screwed in place, we had to build the frame. This involved cutting the aluminium lengths I had previously brought in with the helicopter. 

With the legs cut, we then had to drill holes for the bolts to go through

Back on the roof, the frame was assembled. The rain ominously fell on the adjacent ridgeline, but didn't make it as far as us.

In the midday sun, the roof got too hot for bare feet

And on the ground there were generally at least a few people watching proceedings.

The ladders were ones made for the literacy building construction

With the frame built, it was time to put the panels on.

We were finally brave enough to remove the previous panels

The wires were then connected up and run down into the house.

Finally, after dark, the panels were connected into the system

What a day it had been - after 3 weeks of continual rain, we'd had a day without any and stayed safe on the roof. I didn't even get sunburnt. Answers to all the prayers for no rain and our safety.

And the old panels? They'll go on the literacy building's roof to provide power over there.

Dedicated

A couple of Sundays ago, we had Reuben 'dedicated' at the Tok Pisin worship service we regularly attend on a Sunday morning. We wanted to stand up at the front and publically thank God for giving us Reuben, as well as promise to bring him up to know Jesus.
  

Dave, one of the elders of the church, is asking us whether we are happy to dedicate Reuben to God

After we had made our promises, the church was then asked to make a promise too - they stood up and agreed to support us as we try to bring up Reuben wisely. It was brilliant to hear a resounding 'We will' come as their answer. Then Dave marked the forehead of all three of us, praying for us as he went and asking God to help us. When he had done that, he invited people to come up and pray for us too. A surge of friends and colleagues joined us, surrounded us and prayed for Reuben. It was a moment we will never forget and Reuben loved it! He smiled and gurgled through the whole thing.
  

Friends and colleagues came up the front to pray for Reuben - it was wonderful!



 It was great to be surrounded by our Ukarumpa family.



Reuben really enjoyed it!



Reuben is 8 months old today and loving life. We still cannot quite believe he is here and are just SO GRATEFUL for him! Earlier this month, we celebrated ten years of marriage as well. Thank you God for our ten years and the blessing of this wonderful little boy!

Thank you to our friend, Susan, for all the photographs apart from the last one.

Going Mobile

PNG is a country where communication is difficult; installing a land-line telephone system is impractical. That's why mobile phones are really popular, and becoming ever increasingly so. But even mobile phones need masts to send and receive the signals. The terrain is extremely steep and undulating, so where does one put a mast to best reach the villages in the area? Well, that's where a team of guys with GPS receivers and good relational skills comes into play, along with the helicopter.

First of all you have to locate the spot you want to survey. For good reception the masts want to be up on high terrain, which makes them pretty inaccessible.

And it wasn't just the steepness of the terrain which would have made walking to this spot difficult.

Thankfully the drop-off was steep enough that the aircraft was safely on the ground whilst the tail rotor was clear of  the grass.

Once the site was surveyed, then the guy went the the local village. On this occasion I gave him a lift down in the helicopter, rather than making him walk!

In the village he spent a few days negotiating the land rights to put up a new mobile phone mast, before getting collected again.

The other side to this mobile phone company is their charitable foundation. They fund the likes of the aid post I was previously involved with and schools. We provided the transport to one of their school openings. With a couple of VIPs present, the village put on quite a programme.

There was a drumming band

There were ladies singing

There were the Highlands 'clay men'

There were warriors

There were children singing the national anthem

There were the necessary speeches

And there was the opening of the school

New Britain

As I'm still trying to learn the different landmarks around the country, I sat in on a aeroplane flight over to New Britain. We were taking some translators out to meet up with another mission's helicopter so it could transfer them into their village.

There are some pretty amazing colours in the waters off PNG

 Unfortunately, whilst we could get within 2 miles of the airstrip, low cloud prevented us from being able to land. So went to a nearby airstrip to wait and see if the weather would improve.

To get mobile phone reception you had to go and stand on the other side of the 'haus win' where the guy in the blue shirt can just be spotted!

Being coastal, the weather here was better that day

 Typically, the cloud and rain had set in for the day, so we flew to the nearest town for the night. Moving meant we had better communications, a guesthouse to sleep in and fuel for the aircraft. Going home would have meant 4 hours of wasted flying.

I was a bit surprised to see this Land Rover, complete with British number plate, at the place we stayed

 The next morning the weather was lovely and we got into the airstrip without any problems.

Transferring the people and cargo between the 2 aircraft at the landing strip

 Apart from when Eyjafjallajökull erupted spectacularly on Iceland in 2010, I've not really had to worry much about volcanoes before. New Britain has a number of them that are active. Thankfully we get information from Australia about their status.

This photo was taken from the airstrip we landed at. The volcano is venting gas, but not emitting any ash.

We then headed home, enjoying some more of PNG's amazing scenery on the way.

An amazing blue river (the colour comes from the minerals in the hills that the river flows out of)

One of the many valleys that run through New Britain

Different days

Apologies for our recent silence. Reuben is growing up fast and keeping me occupied! Days float by in a haze of play, laundry, washing the dishes, changing nappies (diapers), e-mails, cooking and did I mention laundry?! Reuben likes to get out, so we often walk down to the store (we just have one shop on centre), go to a friend’s house, check our PO box (we love receiving mail, so please write to us!) or just go for a walk round our little Ukarumpa world. It’s a small world to be honest, but most days I am content.

Most days. It’s the small things that catch me out and accumulate until I feel stressed, emotional, tired, or all three. For example, about a month ago the store ran out of washing-up liquid. Ok, I thought, I have a few spare bottles…it will be fine. But the weeks passed and I worked my way through our supply. I began to wonder what to do and gradually got more and more worried. I started to dream about the household aisle in Tesco. Dreaming about washing-up liquid?! I knew it had to stop! We have an intranet with different forums and one of them is entitled ‘General Wanted’. Ashamed that I had not planned my washing-up liquid stash better, I reluctantly posted my request to purchase some washing-up liquid from someone. The problem is that it turns out that Americans have a different name for it (dish soap – perfectly sensible, but different), so it took a bit of explaining before it was clear what I wanted. Lots of people offered me their spare bottles, so that I was left in the surprising position of having to choose my donor. Where do they all get it from?! I felt relieved, but tired. I felt awkward because I could not make myself understood. I felt awkward that everyone else had washing-up liquid and I didn’t. I felt awkward because I had been so concerned about not having it. I wished I had bought more before I went home to have Reuben. But, in the midst of all the awkwardness, I also realised I had much to be thankful for!In spite of supply problems and cross-cultural misunderstandings, I experienced generosity and the start of a new friendship and all because there was no washing-up liquid in the store. God provided what I needed and more.

Most of the time we can get the basics in the store and my silly washing-up liquid story just made me more grateful for the things that are there. We live in a remote place, so you can’t always count on being able to have what you want. I have had to be more flexible about meal plans and often have a plan a, b and c. We are yet to reach d…my expectations have had to change and some days I cope better than others.

Whilst I dream about the rows of multi-coloured washing up liquid in Tesco (I’m still not over it I see...!), Duncan is out and about. The other day I had had a bad day. Reuben had screamed for no apparent reason for much of the day and I was struggling with mild flu. Duncan came home and excitedly showed me photographs and video from his trip that day. He had taken some dignitaries to a village where new school buildings had recently been constructed from money donated by this particular company. There was dancing, singing, traditional dress, stunning scenery and of course, the helicopter. 

Apparently these guys asked Duncan to take their photo and put it on Facebook!

His eyes were bright and he was full of stories I was desperately trying to focus on. To be honest, I was thinking about the amount of washing-up preparing dinner had generated! You see why I need washing –up liquid?! Sorry…FOCUS! When it got to my turn to talk, all I could think of was how many naps Reuben had taken, number of nappies changed, games played, how much time Reuben spent crying and what I had bought at the store.

I actually quite enjoy hanging the nappies out...

What very different days! We both do important stuff. I know that, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like it. Most days it does and I am so thankful for this special time with my gorgeous son. Most days I love it. Every day I love him and his jet-setting dad.

Aviation Medley

Here are a few photos from flights I've been on over the past couple of weeks...

I went flying on the Kodiak (aeroplane) to expand my knowledge of PNG landmarks. I was surprised (though I probably shouldn't have been) to also see Australia and Indonesia on this flight!

?

I was initially a bit confused as to what this sign was saying. I think it means The Evangelical Church of Papua New Guinea in Kawito (village), Gogodala (language) Bible Training Centre!

Heathrow eat your heart out!

It is flat out west...

... which gives some amazing river shapes.

And like some ancient monument...

...rises this rather large termite mound.

I've also managed some helicopter flying, landing in villages near and far:

Down in the South East

Out West...

...delivering a sawmill as a sling load, to help construct a literacy building.

Closer to home - in the Finisterre Mountains

PNG is such an amazing country with such wonderful landscapes and people.