Dad's Love

Growing up with my parents, I thought my dad was always harsh. As a child, I thought he wanted to punish me and my siblings for even the slightest misbehaving. It could as small as saying a word he doesn't like. Probably that's why I'm very cautious of what I say and not to offend anyone.

I recall, one Friday evening, my two younger siblings and I came home very late. Being raised in a Seventh-day Adventist home, we had this unwritten rule that every Friday after school we must get home quickly to help mum prepare for Saturday. This evening, we got caught up with other village boys hunting for small birds called Somoha in our Tokano vernacular. The fun filled part was during the dusk hours. That's when the small birds would perch on the soft pitpits called akapa and  huddle closer together for the night. The akapa, under the weight of the company of birds would lower to the ground and the birds become vulnerable and easy prey for us. We didn't want to miss this fun bit so we stayed on.

It was already dark when we headed home scared of dad. On our way, we started arguing in low tones whether we go home and meet dad or go to aunt's house. Being the elder, I had more experience with dad and knew him better. Whenever we do something wrong, he expected us to own up, so I said "let's go home or dad will be really angry". Although the youngest of us didn't agree, he listened to me and followed reluctantly. I led us home in a single file, my siblings right behind me taking every step in unison. As we walked in the dark silence of the chill highlands night, no one spoke a word. Our minds raced ahead contemplating what dad would do. Every turn was taken cautiously as dad is known for seeking us out.  

 At home dad was waiting for us. As soon as we arrived, he called us into the house. Our house was a typical highlands house - round house, enclosed by pitpit blinds, no windows except for a door. Since we lived close to Goroka town, we had access to electricity and fluorescent light in the house. We entered the house with heads bowed, facing down. No one dare look into dad's face in the light. He instructed us to sit beside the fire place as he prepared to proceed with another one of his discipline sessions.

This time, instead of the whip he opted to take another approach - sarcasm. He had a plate of food in his hand, picked up a chicken thigh from the plate, took a bite and said, "where is your food from all your work today? You did not help mum so she will not feed you. You can cook your birds and eat."
 We listened as he carried on. I was hungry so as my two small brothers. I felt sorry for them and I started to get angry as well. I couldn't take it anymore. I stood up as he continued his sarcasm. He instructed me to sit down but I didn't listen. I opened the door and walked out angrily. He called after me, "smarty come back", as I stepped into the cold night outside. He's fond of calling me smarty during situations like this which I often dislike. Feeling so bitter for calling me smarty, I destroyed a new garden of taros we had outside. 

Without realizing, my two younger brothers followed me but not involved in the rampage attack of the taro garden. Dad could hear the sound of my rampaging and he came out yelling. His yell set me off running and my younger siblings followed after me. Being a mechanic, dad had a huge yard where he kept all kinds of vehicles. Some areas of the yard had overgrown bush. We ran straight for the area that had the overgrown bush, past all the vehicles. Dad came after us, followed by mum. They were both furious. I led my two brothers and we hid in the overgrown bushes. Dad and mum torched every vehicle and checked for us. We lay in the bushes very scared as we heard doors open and close. We lay in the bushes silently as our hearts pounded heavily. As they finished searching on one side of the yard, we got out of the shrub and went into one of the old buses that they just finished searching. They searched for us everywhere and couldn't locate us and thought we jumped the fence and escaped.

They went to aunts house and checked but we were not there. That night we slept outside in the cold night. The next day, we were the first at church. After church service, dad called us back and we reconciled.

This is one of many instances that I always thought my dad was such a harsh person. As I grew up, I realized that my childhood perceptions were not right. The moment, I first realized that he loved me was when I had to go far from home to a boarding school. It was a long journey from Goroka to Kainantu then Aiyura. After they helped me settle into my room, I came out to say goodbye and shook hands with my siblings, mum, cousins and friends from the village who came to leave me at Aiyura. And dad was the last one I had to farewell. As I approached him, I could figure out that he was lost for words. He had nothing to say. The look on his face was not the man I knew growing up. I could see that he was really sad as tears trickled down his cheek despite his effort to hold it back and he turned his face away from me.  It struck me then that he loved me and felt the pain of a father letting go of a son.   It broke my heart and left me speechless. I turned and ran back to my room as they drove out of the campus in our family's red Toyota Hiace Bus.

That evening I laid on my bed and thought about what I saw. It broke my heart. I couldn't stop crying silently. I thought hard about what I could do for all the love. I made a solemn promise that evening. I pulled out a piece of paper and wrote on the piece of paper - " Daddy, I will always do my Best"

From that time on, I committed myself to academic excellence and trying to achieve the best result in what I do. Every time when I feel challenged and want to give up, I would get back to my room to read this passage. Each time I do that I get motivated to be the best I can be and never let down my dad. My two years at Aiyura passed on swiftly, years 2000 and 2001.

Looking back at my experience, whatever I thought was harsh and cruel was just the irony of love.

Snake man of Ronu Village

"Walk in Negative. Walk out Positive"



A Green Tree Python at Levi's Python Conservation.
This species are native to Papua New Guinea (photo by Terry Francis, 2014)

More often than not, the average human is scared of snakes. There is a general perception of negativity - evil and harm, tagged to snakes which generates  snake fear (ophidiophobia).  Many attribute this snake fear to the Biblical record of the encounter between Eve and the charming serpent and further consolidated by occasional bad human experiences that found lasting solace in the subconscious mind and lingered on. In fact, snakes are not all harmful. Venomous snakes comprise only an estimated 25% of all snake species of the world for which ophidiophobia is warranted, while the rest are harmless.



Along the Okuk Highway at approximately the border of Eastern Highlands and Chimbu Provinces, one cannot miss the Snake village (Ronu Village).  The man behind the the famous Snake Village is Levi Nondo (aka Snake Man) who is in his thirtiesr. A typical Eastern Highlander who posses a fountain of humor.  When I first met him, I realized that he  is not just another ordinary villager, but a very unique man on a mission.

When asked why he was interested in snakes, he answered passionately. He said,  our ancestors had respect for the natural environment including the snakes. They don't kill snakes but treated snakes with respect as important inhabitants of the environment. Our attitude today markedly contrasts that of our ancestors. We have developed unwarranted ophidiophobia. We have become enemy of the snakes. He said, after observing this trend, he feared that soon we will loose many of our harmless snakes so he decided to protect the snakes by way of changing  the mindset of people. He said, he wanted to demonstrate that not all snakes are harmful, and snakes can be regarded as other domesticated or wild animals.

In 2011, he started his project to protect and preserve snakes in his locality. He started buying wild snakes that were unfortunately caught by locals. Instead of killing the snakes, which was the trend, captors of live snakes sold them (snakes) to Levi for prices ranging from K30.00 to K100.00. Soon his collection of snakes, all pythons, increased. Through this initiative snakes were also protected from being killed. However, at times the snakes were unfortunately badly hurt and brought to him, which he had to nurse until they got better or worse. If he figures that the health of his sick pythons continue to deteriorate, he would let them go into the wild hoping that mother nature will provide the best remedy. Other times, they die in his custody and he buries them. To date his collection comprises 29 pythons of various sizes.

For sustainability and preservation of pythons, one of his goal is to try to successfully breed pythons to be released back into the environment. However, he is yet to successfully breed pythons as the python eggs continue to rot and disintegrate due to unfavorable incubation temperatures. I guess, he would need an incubator to successfully hatch one.

One of the daily challenge he faces is the task of getting the pythons' meals. The pythons' meals consist of rats. In all his ingenuity, he has engaged the deaf, dumb, often neglected people of the village to assist in sourcing rats for the pythons. He buys the rats from these people at a price of K5.00 for ten rats.

If you travel along the Highlands Highway you will not miss his snake sanctuary. It is also a tourist attraction although not so popular. So far he has had a good number of tourists who had visited his snake conservation project. He charges a small fee of less thank K10.00 per person to raise funds for the upkeep of the python sanctuary. At the moment he is not affiliated with any of the tourist agencies/companies that operate in Goroka and Kundiwa to promote his fascinating project.

While glancing through the drawings pasted on the pitpit woven wall, outside his house, I noted an intriguing drawing. It was of a human face with snake scales and tongue. I was quite interested and asked what this design was all about. Upon interrogating him, he explained the purpose of his creation. He said, this year he is planning to show case his pythons at the Goroka Cultural Show. He will involve some youths from the village who will be painted as snakes and will display the pythons. The portrait is the portrait of the 'Snake Man'. I was thinking out aloud, could this be the beginning of another comical character called the 'Snake Man'?

Just like many of us, Levi had  his personal snake phobia. His greatest personal achievement was overcoming his snake phobia. Apart from that, he is even more satisfied because he has influenced many of his villagers to dispel the snake phobia. And now the snakes (pythons) are regarded as other domesticated animals in the community. As I was walking out the python sanctuary, stuck against the fence facing me was a placard with the sentences - "Walk In Negative. Walk Out Positive". Sure it made a lot of sense.

The next time you're in Goroka or Kundiawa, you could travel to Ronu Village and see for yourselves the exotic pythons.

Mr. Levi Nondo is not a herpetologist. He is doing this project for the love of snakes to protect and conserve. In fact, he has been living with the snakes for the last four years. His house is in his snake sanctuary.

Women Health – Breast & Cervical Cancer

Definition & Risk factors:

Cancer is an insidious disease characterized by the uncontrolled (excessive) growth of dysfunctional cells of the body. Cancer can affect any body-part, but there are certain body-parts (organs) that are more affected than others.

In women age 35 – 54 years, two important organs that are most affected are the breast and the cervix. The breast, in women, is a special gland that develops around the time of puberty to be able produce milk.  The cervix is part of the female’s reproductive organs that also undergoes a lot of changes during puberty. It is a ring of tissue about 2-3cm long, attached at the opening or the lower part (neck) of the womb (uterus). During labor, it opens up to allow for the baby to be delivered.

The Female reproductive organs - cervix (2-3 cm long) is located between the vagina and the body of the uterus (womb).

The cells of the cervix and the breast undergo a lot of cellular changes/transformation during puberty and at pregnancy in the lifetime of a woman; therefore these cells are more vulnerable to cancerous changes.

Breast cancer is associated with positive family history (genetic risk factor) and other modifiable risk factors – fatty western diet, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and hormonal therapy. On the other hand, it is a known fact that most (95%) cervical cancers are caused by a sexually transmitted virus (Human Papilloma Viruses-HPV). The greatest risk factor for cervical cancer is infection with HPV during and around puberty through early (pre-pubertal/pubertal) unprotected sex.

Why is this relevant for woman?

In PNG and many other developing nations, access to and affordability of cancer services remains a major obstacle to the fight against cancer. Many women have died from both cervical and breast cancers due mainly to lack or absence of awareness, vaccination programs, screening services and limited treatment options. Knowing risk factors and information about these two cancers can greatly assist one to take simple steps to prevent the cancer or enable early detection and treatment, yielding a high probability of a successful treatment outcome.

What is the issue like in PNG and the World?

·         Cervical cancer accounts for 138,000 deaths in the Asia-Pacific region.

.         Breast and cervical cancers are in the top 5 leading causes of cancer deaths in PNG.

·         In PNG, 7.7% of women in the general population carry HPV-16 /18.

·         938 women are diagnosed with cancer of the cervix every year in PNG.

·         546 women die from cervical cancer in PNG annually.

·         Breast cancer accounts for 187 000 deaths in the Asia-Pacific region.

What are the preventive and control measures?

Many cancers, including breast and cervical cancers, can be prevented by living health lifestyles. These include:

1.      Avoid/Stop cigarette smoking.

2.      Reduce intake of fatty diet.

3.      Engage in regular physical activity – establish a regular exercise program.

4.      Keep your weight within your ideal body weight range.

5.      Minimise alcohol intake.

6.      Eat regular healthy, nutritious meal with adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables.

7.      Practise safe sex

8.      Minimise sexual partners.

9.      Get vaccinated against HPV.

Get regular screening for cervical and breast cancer.

1.      Pap smear is the most popular screening test used worldwide for early detection of cervical cancer. It is recommended that women between the ages of 21 and 65 years get a Pap smear screening every three years.

2.      Perform a regular breast self examination and see a doctor to make up a mammography screening schedule for you.

 

Turmoils of Labor

For the last six hours, Betty was agonizing under the excruciating spasms of child birth. Her last three deliveries were spontaneous normal deliveries but this seemed unlike before. Being an experienced young mother, she attempted to synchronise her expulsive efforts with the painful spasmodic contractions of the baby-filled uterus. She gasped for air intermittently as sweat trickled down her forehead, over her dark brown eyes, and mixed with tears of agony as she cried –‘mama’, when labour-pain was unbearable.  Betty’s mother stood beside her in the dimly lit aid post. She watched her daughter endure the anguish and pain of motherhood. Her joy of welcoming her newborn grandchild was soon overtaken by a deep concern for her beautiful daughter. All efforts seemed to have sipped out all energy from Betty.  Rising from between Betty’s parted legs; the lone male Community Health Worker (CHW) looked up to Betty, turned to Betty’s mother, and attempts to explain the situation.

Standing beside Betty’s mother, inside the dimly lit aid post was a short stout young man, whose overbearing shadow of concern plastered against the unpainted battered walls of the aid post. Chin cupped in the palm of his hands, Betty’s husband seemed lost for words. He turned his attention to the community health worker, dreading to hear any bad news as the community health worker began to explain the difficulties Betty is experiencing. As simple as he could, he explained that the baby is a big baby and is also not lying in alignment with the birth canal. It would require an urgent referral out to save the baby and Betty. Before the community health worker ended his last sentence; tears welled up Betty’s mother’s eyes, overflowed and trickled down the sun burnt freckle face. She squeezed her daughter’s hands that was in hers most of the time, and rubbed gently with a motherly love. Betty felt the concern and care of her mother that words cannot express. The words of the CHW were news Betty’s mother would rather be deaf to. She knew the difficulties and challenges that came with such news – money, transport, the rugged terrains and the bad roads, which they have to hurdle if they have to save her daughter and her grandchild.

With a bit of effort, Betty's husband degutted bitter sputum down his parched throat and cleared his voice. In a rather low cracked voice he asked “bai yumi kisim em igo Butaweng?” (Are we going to take her to Butaweng?), knowing well that was the only place to go to. Butaweng is synonymous with medical emergencies in their village and region (Finchaffen, Tewai-Siassi & Kabwum Districts).

Butaweng is an ELCPNG mission health station in Finchaffen district, Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. The health station is nestled at the neck of what I would call the Godewac Peninsula where the majestic Mape River curls around to pour gracefully into Langema Bay. To the north is the historic site where Johann Flierl sailed into the quiet shores of Simbang village on the 12th of July, 1886, thus rightfully, Simbang village is regarded as the birthplace of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea (ELCPNG). Despite Butaweng's proximity to the historic Simbang village, it has its own remarkable history. It is widely known for the health and medical services of the Braun Memorial Rural Hospital through its dedicated doctors, nurses, paramedical and non-medical staff; and later popularized through the music industry by Mr. Jason Hershey (aka O-Shen). 



Satellite view of Butaweng, surrounding communities and the remarkable Mape River emptying into Langema Bay.

After six hours of many cycles of uterine contractions-relaxation of various intensity, there was no progress. Betty was drained of all her energy. Her skin felt cool and sweaty. She inhaled mouthfuls of the humid air and desired for more, but the contractions interrupted.

Betty's husband disappeared into the night as the aid post's door closed behind with a creaking sound. In the dark, in front of the aid-post, a crowd of men began to gather. Betty's husband informed the young men that gathered of the complications Betty is experiencing and they needed to get her to Butaweng (Braun Memorial Rural Hospital).

Eighteen months back, Betty had her third child delivered without complications at Braun Memorial Rural Hospital. During the usual obstetric ward rounds, the doctor spoke to her about family completion. She nodded in approval after the doctor informed her of the health benefits for the mother, and the benefits of having a manageable size family. Unfortunately, when the husband was asked for his informed consent for family completion, he was reluctant. He gave some reasons for his decision: (i) my wife will not be able to carry heavy loads and work in the garden after the operation, (ii) she will develop chronic (long lasting) abdominal pain. The doctor took time again to carefully explain the benefits of family completion and tried to clear the misconceptions he had, but Betty's husband's decision was firm. He assured the doctor that he will use some traditional herbal medicine to make her infertile.

The young men quickly constructed the all too familiar bush stretcher from bamboos and bags under the light of the flickering lantern. The improvised stretcher was moved into the aid-post and Betty was transferred onto the stretcher. Four brave young men carried Betty on the stretcher and walked through the night with the aid of a torch. Behind them, Betty's parents, husband, her third child straddled over his dad's shoulder, the CHW and a few other young men followed. Right at the back was Betty's mum who walked under the load of a string bag half-full with plantains and taro (taweng). Along the way, the men had to stop several times to catch their breath and change. When contractions were painful and Betty moved about, they laid the stretcher down and waited, then continued.  The journey was about two hours before they reached the nearest health centre. The nursing officer at the health centre made an assessment of Betty's condition and advised that she cannot manage her so she had to be taken  to Butaweng immediately.

Betty was taken to Butaweng in the  health centre's ambulance (trooper) where her baby was delivered.  The baby was very sick though, but was successfully managed by the dedicated staff of Braun Memorial Rural Hospital.

Three days later, Betty developed further complications and sadly passed on leaving behind her young family and loved ones. The baby will grow up without  her. I know, one day, she will manage to ask her father about her mum. It will be a pain in the throat experience for the lone father to recount the tragedy.

 

• May Anutu (God) continue to bless the hard working staff of Braun Memorial Rural Hospital in their daily strive to dispense adequate medical and health services with the meagre resources they have.
• May  one day, every Papua New Guinean especially the 87.5% rural based population will have access to better health services.



The Irony of Love

My son

My own

Love is my emotion

Guiding my motion
Across the Ocean

I have to go

You don't want to let me go

I note the look in the eyes you bear

My heartaches to see you tear

I have to be daddy in the plain

But my eyes well with tears in the plane

No, don't think daddy don't love you son

Daddy knows the game will be won

Mama tells me you don't want to eat

You put me under heat

Nor watch television

Regretting  my decision

I asked, what's up?

Mommy hangs up

Mommy tells me you're distressed.

For a while I am suppressed.

But we got to be strong, Son.

Believe me Son

It will be won

Life is a Portrait

Envied Painter

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

The portrait's not only what you see.

The reality of the envied is not what you perceive.

Behind the scenes are the circumstances varied.

The envied ambitiously carried.

 

Criticize on the missing ink.

Coz it's only the missing link.

 

He strokes again and again.
While you belittle with disdain

 

Time is a Healer

Coz he's a believer

Making strides with the brush
Comments only a rush

 

Time will Tell

Ah, All is well

 

Life is a portrait

Not a dose of barbiturate

Enough of the all-knowing criticizer

Rather get wisdom from the adviser

Don't remain the beholder
Rather be the wielder

 

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

 

 

BUILDING BLOCKS

"Simplicity is the Basis of all things Complex" 

In May 2013, I took my family with me to do volunteer medical work at Braun Memorial Rural Hospital in Finschaffen, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. For me, Braun Memorial Rural Hospital - the staff and the hospital community, have a special significance in my life and career development. I started my career as a young registered medical doctor in year 2009 out in this simple rural hospital - a humble beginning.

One evening Mr. Gelinde Narekine (initiator of Braun Health Foundation) and myself were conversing about medical science topics. We talked about molecular biology, physiology and immunology. It was very interesting and intellectual discourse. One of the topics of molecular biology that was really interesting was epi-genetics which I frankly did not have much insight into, so I learnt a lot from him. However, one thing we both agreed on is this, to really understand the complexities of the biological systems, one must have a firm understanding of the basics. This is how he simply puts it - "Simplicity is the Basis of all things Complex". Very profound statement indeed.

It has an element of truth that is cross cutting. This statement can be interpreted from different perspectives. Lets take a look at it from the view of a physicist: the basics of understanding physics is having a firm understanding of the laws that govern energy and matter. This will take us back to the basic physics taught at high school - Newton's Laws of motion, Law of Gravity, Law of Conservation of mass-energy, Thermodynamic Laws, etc. Physics builds on these basic laws or principles. They set the platform to grasp the complexities of physics. Let's look at it from the another perspective, the Economist: the basics of understanding economics depends on the basic principles of economics - e.g. the cost of something is what you give up to get, the standard of living depends on the country's production, prices rise when the government prints too much money, etc. Having a firm grasp of this basic principles, one can be the master of economics. The same can be true for other fields of science, mathematics and social science. The successful accumulation, in depth appreciation, and reasonable application of the great wealth of knowledge begins with a better understanding of the basic principles that exist in each field of study.

Now I want to take a different turn in my perspective of this statement. Take a closer look at matter. In physics, matter is defined as anything that has mass and occupies space. Physical chemistry proves that the building blocks of matter are the elements. An element (remember the periodic table) is composed of the atoms and the sub-atomic particles - electrons, protons, neutrons and nucleus, that are held together by electrostatic forces. The atoms unite to form molecules which form what we observe as matter. Ponder a while about the things around you and look at yourself: at the core are the basic sub-atomic particles that are pulled together to form what you see and feel. Take a look at living things, the human body. The basic unit is the living cell that is composed of the organelles, the organelles come together to form the cell, similar cells group together to form tissues, tissues form organs and organs form systems (cardiovascular, nervous, endocrine,etc). What you see in the physical world are the product of the cohesion and functional and structural configuration of very minute but  significant basic units of matter and life. Take away the sub-atomic particles, the atom, the cells and you are left with nothing - simplicity is the basis of all things complex.

I heard about  Professor Ben Carson as a boy in my local church during the book club times. Since then his stories have been a source of motivation and inspiration to me. He is famous for the separation of the Siamese twins (twins joined at the back of the head) in 1987. He holds more than sixty honorary doctorates, a member of many prestigious organisations and he was awarded the prestigious "Presidential Medal of Freedom" in 2008. He has a distinguished career. However, in his early childhood he had all the recipe to preclude such a distinguished career. Something happened. His third-grader mother challenged him to strive for excellence. He got his head stuck on books and he persisted. Had he not listened to his third-grader mother's advise and persevered, he would not rise to his distinguished career.It was the simple things - reading, perseverance and trusting in God, that exalted him to his distinguished career. 

The simple things, the little things, the things often taken for granted  eventually sum up. They are the building blocks of life. There is a pattern in our world that is obvious to the inquisitive mind. The pattern is perfectly summed in this profound statement - Simplicity is the Basis of all things Complex.