And so it begins….

Some years ago I was in the UK studying for my law school finals.  It was an intense period and I was feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work so I called my mum to offload.  A few days later a photo arrived in the post along with a note which read:  “Louise, this is a picture of you on your first day of school.  If things ever become too much for you just look at it and think how far you’ve come since that day.”  That picture was taken in Arawa on Bougainville Island, a now Autonomous Political Region in the Pacific, but still for the moment a part of Papua New Guinea.  I have never forgotten those words and I have always kept that picture taped to my desk wherever I go.

My life and career have taken me through four continents and countless countries, but this next stage is taking me back to that day in 1985 when I stood there proudly posing for a photograph as I made my way to Bovo School.  In pidgin you would say ‘em place bilong mi’, and that’s just how it feels:  the place where I belong, my home.

The histories of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ARB) are complex and turbulent.  They are steeped in bloodshed, greed, and the pursuit of power.  They also abound with tradition, rich cultures, and a diversity which is unparalleled anywhere in the world.  In PNG there are over 850 linguistically distinct indigenous languages in a population of around 7 million.  I can just about manage “can I have a beer please?” in French, German and English, but most people in PNG will speak at least two languages and many several more.  The PNG people are rightly proud of their cultural heritage but the country also faces significant challenges which have held it back from reaching its incredible potential.

I am so privileged to have received the opportunities in life that so many people have not. I am fortunate to have had an excellent education.  I have never been unable to access healthcare.  I have had steady work throughout my life and have been able to make choices about the direction that I want my career to go.  I have not lost family through war, ethnic clashes, because of accusations of sorcery, or as a result of sexual or domestic violence.  

However, the reality and experience of many of the children that I played with as a kid will have been very different from my own.  Those playmates will now be adults, many with children of their own.  And the world in which they live is surrounded by a statistical reality which breaks my heart.

It is estimated that 50% of women in PNG have been raped with at least 75% having experienced sexual or domestic abuse.  Over 1 million children live with violence in their homes or communities.  40% of the population is illiterate and the labour market limited even for those with an education.  The average Papua New Guinean will only receive around 4 years of schooling.  Approximately 70 in every 1000 babies will die before the age of 5 and maternal mortality rates are high. 

HIV/AIDS is at epidemic levels.  Access to healthcare is limited.  85% of the population live a subsistence lifestyle within a cashless or limited cash economy making access to the rapidly expanding ‘modern’ civil society difficult.  PNG is marred by perceived corruption taking the dubious accolade of the most corrupt country in the Pacific, and one of the top 25 most corrupt countries in the world.  Forced evictions are not uncommon.  Police brutality and institutionalised torture are systemic.  So what will the future hold for this next generation of Papua New Guinea children?

     
With this destructive record of achievement many people have asked me why it is that I want to go back? Why am I willingly and excitedly throwing myself into that situation?  The truth is, I don’t know.  I have thought about this long and hard and I can’t explain what it is about PNG that has such a magnetic pull. 

But that’s exactly what it is.  There is something utterly absorbing about PNG despite and in spite of its challenges. 

Never before have I received such an unfettered welcome every time I walk into a village.  Nowhere else has the spectacular beauty of virgin rainforests, stunning beaches, and crystal blue oceans taken my breath away in quite the same way.  I am moved to tears each and every time I hear PNG voices raised in song.  I will never tire from the excitement of watching sing sing groups so proudly display their tribal heritage through music and dance.
 

There is something about PNG which gets under your skin.  The people of PNG recognise the challenges that they face, and I am looking forward to working with some incredible local NGO’s that are setting the agenda at grassroots level.  Working towards eliminating violence against women is a key priority.  However, there are also other programmes which are having a significant impact on helping to reduce poverty and empower local communities.  Water and sanitation are vital.  Economic Development through sustainable farming solutions provides communities with the means to support themselves.  Working on resilience strategies which reduce disaster risk will create safer and more robust mechanisms for communities to protect themselves and their livelihoods. There are so many ways in which the PNG people are working to create a stronger civil society, and I feel privileged to be part of supporting that work.

I could probably spend a lifetime trying to explain it and I’ll never be able to provide a satisfactory answer.  What I do know is that I am embarking on the journey of a lifetime.  I hope that in some small way I will be able to give something back to the people who made such an impact on me as a young child, and whose friendship has grown with me as I became an adult.  I know that journey will be complex, emotional, tumultuous, full of frustrations, and as potentially hazardous as any I could imagine; but it will also be infinitely rewarding and worth each and every step.

Louise Ewington