PNG Journal Day 6 / Karkar Island
20:45
Island life: of barking toads, coconuts and bushknives
Thursday September 18, 2014
Madang/Karkar Island
I’m back underneath the mosquito
net, typing for a precious few minutes before the electricity gets turned off
at 10pm. Outside the window come the sound of gently crashing waves, the buzz
of insects and the croaky chatter of frogs (including barking toads, they just
can’t keep quiet).
We’re in a place known as Karkar
Island, home to about 80 000 local residents and a handful of expats. It’s a
hot island, it feels as if someone turned up the thermostat between leaving Oro
and arriving in Madang/Karkar. What’s quite unique to this island is the black
sand beaches, made black by the volcano, don’t ask me how. Something else I
find absolutely fascinating is the biodiesel industry here: coconuts - abundant
on the island - are transformed into biodiesel, making a sustainable and
ecological fuel that apparently smells lovely, like a fruity perfume.
(at the boat docks -- we didn't actually catch this ship)
Here’s the rundown of what
happened today. Woke up early this morning in Madang, grabbed a quick breakfast
and headed down to the wharf to board a teeny tiny little speedboat that took
us to the island, about a 1-2 hour trip. We left the tranquil, protected bay in
Madang and bumped along (there’s been a lot of bumping on this trip) across crests
of waves. As the distance between us and solid ground grew, so did my
nervousness, and I can say honestly that I was gripping on tightly to that
little metal handrail. Luckily, the further out we went, the closer the outline
of Karkar island came into view, its iconic mountaintops rising high into the
air.
Sometimes when we looked into the
shallows, we could see the sandy bottom covered with coral through pristine,
turquoise water. It was something quite special. Out in the open sea, a
surprised cry from mum of “Dolphin!!” alerted us to the majestic form of a
dolphin leaping high over a wave. We had a slight scare when the engine stalled
about a kilometre out from the shore and we were left bobbing haphazardly in
the rolling waves. Nevertheless, we broke out of the surf into the waveless
shallows.
I was exhilarated to be facing a
whole new sight. We slowly drifted along the sandy banks, passing children
playing in the black sand or paddling in wooden canoes, behind which was
visible little huts made of woven grass and wood. Beyond, the land was covered
by dense, tropical forest, unfamiliar and exotic. The boat stopped about a
metre out from the sand, we hopped out and waded the last bit through water.
A man wearing glasses, a striped
short-sleeved shirt and light safari pants eagerly burst through the back gate
of a property which opened out onto the beach. He introduced himself as Pablo,
a logistics officer from Spain with extensive field experience with MSF
(Doctors Without Borders) in countries including Pakistan. He and his wife Dr
Constanze work on Karkar Island at Gaubin Hospital. (He is fantastic, one of
the friendliest people you could ever meet. He helped us out so much today,
picking us up from the boat, introducing us to the hospital staff, letting us
rest in his home and even showing us around his garden – complete with an
assortment of colourful flowers and coconut, passionfruit and pawpaw trees, and
pineapple plants. It was the first time I’d ever seen how pineapple grow and
boy, was I surprised. Pablo explained how fertile the soil is here, “Stick
anything in the ground and it grows. Put a rock in the ground and it will grow
into bananas.”)
Anyhoos. We all weren’t sure what
to expect from our time here, as the communication over the last few months had
been patch at best, leaving us in a bit of an unpredictable pickle. Thankfully,
things turned out pretty well today. After arriving at Gaubin hospital, we met
with the hospital administrator. Mum discussed ways to support the hospital and
went through explanations of the supplies we had brought.
Over the day, we went on a tour and ward round of the hospital, took a break at Pablo/Constanze’s house, and finally returned to the school for Community Health Workers (CHWs) adjacent to the hospital for a couple education sessions.
Over the day, we went on a tour and ward round of the hospital, took a break at Pablo/Constanze’s house, and finally returned to the school for Community Health Workers (CHWs) adjacent to the hospital for a couple education sessions.
The hospital tour was
fascinating. The wards looked very similar to what we had seen in other areas
of PNG/Timor – limited and under-resourced. In the surgical ward I met a man
with a bandage on his left arm. When I asked him how it happened, he said that a
shark had bitten him and taken out some meat off his arm. My immediate reaction
was: wait, what…did you just say a shark? (I swear he just said shark. Oh my
god, he really did.) That was probably the most noteworthy thing I saw in the
hospital.
There was also a child in the
paediatrics ward with malnourishment - the distended belly, difficulty
breathing and skinny limbs was a giveaway. Asking the mother, the child was “7
moons” old and had no name.
Other things we came across –
Xray facilities, not in operation for the last 12 months due to lack of film,
an old weights scale sitting outside with a rake leaning against it, clothes
drying in the sun on a hills hoist, an all-paper filing system, a tiny little
hole-in-the-wall laboratory on the top floor.
Here’s something you don’t see
everyday. After we had finished the hospital tour and was standing outside the
entrance waiting, we heard shouting outside the gate and people dashing down
the street, shouting “Go, go!” A minute later, they were followed by an
intoxicated man wielding a bush knife, swinging it around and yelling at the
people behind the fence. Crowds gathered on the hospital and schoolyards, which
were facing each other across the now-empty road. Eventually he left; things
gradually settled down and went back to normal. As it turns out, alcohol +
marijuana + bush knives meant that these situations were not all that uncommon:
“PNG way of life.”
Education sessions at the CHW
school later in the afternoon were interesting. The session was focused on
Hepatitis B education today. Mum’s talk included information on Hepatitis B,
vaccination coverage (especially birth dose), clinical features and management.
Jodee also gave her talk on conjunctivitis.
The students studying here come
from different parts of PNG. Most of the ones I spoke to came from Madang, but
I’m sure others come from elsewhere too. After completing grade 12 high school
they study here for 2 years and complete 41 modules, including eyes, upper and
lower respiratory and many other topics. Then they are allocated positions at
health outposts or hospitals around the country. In their spare time some of
their favourite activities are playing sport, music, telling stories and jokes,
just like students anywhere else in the world.
Driving around the island to
where we are staying, we passed by many people going about their daily lives,
dogs casually hanging around the road, families of pigs going about their own
business, and a lot of coconut trees growing all around. Apparently a lot of
injuries are caused by coconuts falling on people’s heads, which goes to show
that coconuts are not to be taken lightly.
Okay, lights are well and truly
out (power goes off), I’m sweating from the heat, the frogs are making a ruckus
(still) and I’m getting a little paranoid about the bugs that may or may not be
falling through holes in the net onto meeeeeee (ouch – what was that…) I think
it’s time to call it a night, tomorrow brings another day!
Carrie
Carrie
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