Highs and Lows

I have just submitted my mid term review to Australian Volunteers.  It chronicles successes and progress, dead ends and frustrations.  I always see these reviews as something for my benefit - I've never really seen any indication that anyone at AVI looks at them!

They are a bit of work but they make me think about what I have really achieved and where I should be concentrating my efforts.  

I thought I would tidy up and document the folders and files I have on my work  laptop.  It amounted to a lot and showed the breadth of what I had been doing from finding innovative ways to showcase NARI research and make its findings more available, to all the policies on Child Protection, Gender Equity and Social Inclusion I have prepared.  

I updated my lists of resources destined for the on-line resource AGDEX-PNG and was surprised by how much useful stuff I'd actually found.  There's plenty of editing there too to keep me busy as web and email addresses need to be updated.  

When my supervisor read it over he noted that he could detect my frustrations with the pace of action showing through.  Yes, I do get frustrated but I accept that is not something that will change - it's a ME problem.

Last December I prepared a Soft Skills Training package applicable to all staff, centred around communication, team work and problem solving.  The institute administration is keen, indeed pushing, for it to be rolled out but something always gets in the way.  This week HR have been helping the family of a staff member whose death - shocking and unexpected - happened 2 weeks ago.  Arrangements around such things are neither quick nor easy here in PNG.  And a spate of burglaries in the compound was another headache for HR to deal with.  So that's another fortnight gone with no progress on that front through no-one's fault.

Steve's training program on the other hand is progressing well which makes me very happy.

And  there is so much joy I feel in working here.  I love the quirkiness of things like the balloons and the blessing of the new tractor.  I can't imagine PVI having a dedication service for a new piece of equipment with a blessing and prayer from the local Evangelical pastor.

I have been working on an article for the revitalised Harvest magazine.  I have had trouble getting my story - about farming Black Soldier Fly larvae - into the correct format.  It has to be informative but not tech heavy, it has to be light but still substantial.  A hard balancing act.

There has been swearing coming from the other desk in my office too, because someone couldn't get the template used to do the online publishing to work either!  Those photos just won't stay where they're put.

The photo below is one I have taken for the article.  A discarded plastic jerry can has been cut in half to use as a tray to hold the kitchen waste that the larvae grow on.  It's a perfect picture of the economic, environmental and social positives of the project.  I will put in a link to the article when it's published.

And one of the best things is the donuts for morning tea on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, though sometimes we get the deep-fried savoury donut filled with Chow Mein which is pretty special too!

Two weeks ago we finally made it into the forest on the other side of the Markham River valley.  It was a lovely day walking in the forest looking at trees and creeks and little waterfalls.  There were a few birds and  lots of butterflies for Steve to photograph.

You'll find some pictures here on Steve's blog.

Some public art!

It was a hot 4 hours walking and the coconut cooler at the end was very refreshing.

Last Sunday we went on organised walk up the hill behind our house.  It was lovely to be out and chatting with new people both expat and local.  

These two pictures are looking towards each other from either side of the Markham valley - the one on the right from last week's walk, the one on the left from the week before that.

 

And this is looking down on our compound from the hill above at the start of our climb.

 We hope we'll get more opportunities to be out and about over the next 5 months.  Jenny