KEITH JACKSON
THERE are many splendid websites devoted to Papua New Guinea and its people and they’re often produced by folks who have both a great feeling for PNG and a wonderful sense of design and art.
Today I want to bring to the fore three sites which are published by people with a real commitment to Papua New Guinea and which are well worth a visit.
In their own ways, they're quite different in their intent and execution but, like PNG Attitude, they all have a strong connection with PNG.
Beautiful to the eye & beautiful to the mind
Joycelin Leahy comes from the small village of Wagang outside Lae and publishes the fascinating and beautifully designed Tribalmystic blog which, as she says, is “about people, places and things that have extraordinary stories”.
“I am an Ahe woman and I live in Brisbane, Australia, Joycelin writes. “I am part of a tribe and I was raised by my grandmother and my mother.
“Like many indigenous people that continue to struggle to hold on to their heritage, I feel that it is my responsibility to continue to protect, preserve and sustain what belongs to my people.
“The blog is one way of promoting and protecting my heritage.
“For tribal and indigenous people around the world, I would like to say – please fight to protect your heritage. Once it’s gone, it’s lost.”
You can visit Joycelin’s Tribalmystic site here.
An eminent Australian author’s desire for PNG
Drusilla Modkeska founded SEAM Sustain Education Art Melanesia) to support community-based projects in Papua New Guinea.
It will work in the areas of resource support for schools, distance learning, early childhood learning and adult literacy.
Drusilla is a writer, reviewer and essayist. Her books include Poppy, The Orchard, and Stravinsky’s Lunch and The Mountain. She first went to PNG in 1968 and since 2004 has returned to PNG regularly.
“I was visiting PNG a lot while I was writing The Mountain, so got to know a few communities well.
“I saw the dismay and confusion that followed the death of a man who’d been sponsoring some of their children through school. I managed to rustle up another year’s fees for a couple of communities, but it was a stop-gap measure, and a lot of children dropped out, especially those who’d gone to town for High School.
“It became clear that, for all this man’s generosity, individual sponsorship is not the way to ‘help’. Not only is the funding insecure, it benefits only a few, can lead to jealousies; he didn’t always ‘pick the right kid’, I was told.
“SEAM emerged over many visits and long consultations with the communities and literacy projects in other parts of the country. It’s principle is one of community partnership and access.”
You can visit the new SEAM site here.
Police officer brings Lae & its environs to the world
Peter Henss is an Australian police officer who has been based in Lae for the past 12 months.
After he arrived to advise the local police, and taking an interest in the district, Peter decided to update the Wikipedia pages for Lae and the surrounding villages.
“During the research, PNG Attitude would always come up and many of the references in the articles are from your site,” Peter told me.
Peter’s assignment is almost at an end but he has left a great legacy in the form of updated and expanded information about Lae.
You can visit the Lae Wikipedia site here.
“It would be nice if you could promote this and please encourage interested persons to create a Wikipedia account and edit the various pages,” says Peter.
We wish Peter well on his return to Australia.