Preparing for the PNG Field

Our team has been hard at work to prepare for our second major week of training in Yamen village this October.

Preparations for travelling out to the Keram starts long before the team head out into the field - but this trip more so than ever before. PNG is currently experiencing El Nino and water levels are extremely low, so we have done several supply runs to make sure that our boats are not too heavy.

Our training focus has been centred around addressing current needs related to El Niño as well as regular priorities around building community resilience and preventative health measures. Naomi and Hannah have been working behind the scenes over the past few months to develop a new suite of picture cards on topics ranging from leadership, to disaster preparedness, to menstruation, to how to build a tippy tap! These - along with an assortment of other supplies - have been delivered by DHL and will be taken home by participants from training.

Two community representatives from all surrounding villages have been invited via a 'Tok Save' (announcement) delivered by our Community Volunteer Coordinators, John and Gina. Notices like this must be delivered in person as there are very limited telecommunications in the area.

We have also been working hard as a team to develop training plans for the week that will empower the community reps with leadership, teaching, and communication skills to support health and resilience in their villages.

In the midst of this time, we will also demonstrate how to hand-drill a solar well and equip communities with the skills they need to be able to do this and maintain it themselves. Your donations will enable us to provide them with the materials they need to do this. Please give generously if you can, so we can support as many villages as possible throughout this challenging drought period.

Below are some photos of the preparations that have gone into this trip.