Tablet

My tablet is in there somewhere (H.Schulz)

I am not an early adopter of new technology, but wait to see if it might be useful as well as fashionable. As I could not see much use to a tablet beyond a fancy photo album, I was unsure if I should buy one, but did so as people always want to see photos of where I live and work. it is true that I mostly use it as a fancy photo album, it has proven its worth in this respect, both in Australia and in the village.

When in Australia it is handy to be able to carry photos around so easily, and to throw in some videos for good measure. These can be videos I’ve taken in the village, or the carefully crafted ones promoting our work in Bible translation. Kids love to watch the videos on repeat, but adults enjoy them too. As a picture speaks a thousand words, this album of photos does more to describe my life and work than I could ever do using words. The pictures also prompt questions about aspects of life that I would not think to mention otherwise.

Just as the translation team was about to leave, it started pouring

 with rain, so we watched the Jesus Film on my tablet for an 

hour while waiting for the rain to pass. (H.Schulz)

In the village though, is where my tablet is proving its worth. Firstly there is the ease of using it to show portions of the Jesus Film as part of Bible studies. With a small speaker attached, I can share the film with a medium sized group before we spend time discussing what we have seen.

Sharing an album of photos of the Jesus Film dedication has been a huge hit this trip. Learning to swipe between pictures is never a problem and once I have the album open, I hand over my tablet and stand back and watch as a crowd gathers to enjoy the show. It is interesting to see what people do and don’t recognise, which pictures they stop at or not. A photo of the local mill and airstrip taken from the air confuses people as they do not recognise the view from above. Stretches of river, which to me all look the same, are quickly identified as to where they are. Small figures in distant canoes are also named, along with where they are from and how they are related. As with all people in the world, they pause for the familiar faces, and skip the strangers. Aba Robbie is a favourite with everyone, but their circuit minister is always skipped. Close ups that whiteskins comment on as beautiful portraits, are seen as a bit odd by locals.

It is remarkable how quickly
a crowd can gather! (H.Schulz)

While I was worried about having technological toys when very few locals do, the joy that the tablet has brought to many people has made it worth having. I’ve also been shown that I’m not the only one with technological toys, as one day I was charging a far more expensive tablet for my neighbour’s in-laws.

One side-effect of tablets is that kids expect every screen to be full of fun things and are a bit disappointed that my phone and computer seem so boring. When I go down to the riverside to check emails (the signal doesn’t reach my house) there will always be a kid or two who comes to stare hopefully at the screen. They soon wander off disappointed, or are called off by their parents. I’ve also learnt to say ‘Only words, no pictures’ to discourage them. Checking email is when I’m grateful for low literacy rates, as I can leave my phone beside me and not expect anyone to be  able to read small print, at a distance, upside down, in English, and so my emails remain private.

While I am not an early adapter to technology, the locals are. They enjoy using my tablet, seeing photos, taking photos if their phone is capable and at least one person has asked me to blue tooth some of the dedication photos to their phone. It is a reminder to me that the culture gap is not always as big as it might seem.

Flight of the Blackboards

Loading the cargo, including
the blackboard collection (H.Schulz)

Before my most recent flight to the village, I had packed two blackboards (90cm x 120cm) and sent them ahead to Aviation. They were wrapped in plastic, ready for their canoe ride after landing. When I arrived at Aviation I was surprised to see a pair of boards, without their plastic wrap. I need that wrap for the boat ride! Looking closer I saw a pile of personal sized blackboards beside it and remembered that the Kasua team was sending out literacy supplies. Looking more closely again, I saw that it was labelled for the Kaluli team. It was the flight of the blackboards! Two for Kaluli, two for Kope, six big boards for Kasua and piles of small boards too.

While amused by the collection it was a clear reminder of the importance of literacy in the work we do. Here were three different teams putting together supplies to ship them to remote locations for the local community to use in their vernacular literacy programmes. The blackboards are a sign that other literacy efforts are in place. Local teachers have been trained, books have been written and printed, curriculums have been developed, but more resources are always needed.

Day one using the blackboard (H.Schulz)

Who pays for these resources? Most often it is the expat translator working with the language community. Often the community will contribute, but the expat carried the bulk of the expense. Where do we get our funds from? Mostly it comes from family and friends at home who believe in the work we do and support us financially*. The Kasua team had a special fundraising effort to pay for these literacy materials. There are some project funds available for literacy, but they are for specific things such as printing books. The purchase and the flight costs of blackboards are not usually covered.

Sometimes there is funding that comes from local government to support local literacy efforts. I had been speaking with a friend about this happening in her area the day before my flight. Sadly, hers was a tale of corruption and vanishing funds. Large amounts had been given, but not been received at the community level. Changes in the committee managing the funds had only made things worse. Currently she is choosing not to go to her language area until the problem is sorted out, to keep herself as far from the mess as possible. I am sure there are other circumstances where the government funds reach the village literacy programme and are used well, but not in this case. It makes me sad when the government has the will to help, but the help is not received and people continue to struggle with literacy.

My blackboards are for translation rather than literacy
and allow everyone to read and contribute to the
draft as it is written. (H.Schulz)

Literacy is a skill that opens the world to people, giving access to many things. Starting to learn to read and write in the language people are most familiar with is the best foundation. Once they have learnt these skills, they can then take on new languages, new ideas and the whole world in a whole different way. As we fly blackboards across the country, we do so to help the remote and forgotten people have access to the world beyond their village. We are also doing it to let them know that their language and culture is just as worthy of writing as any other language in the world.

 *If you would like to support my work in Bible translation (including literacy) with the Kope people, please contact Wycliffe Australia or the Lutheran Church ofAustralia

Staying healthy

Working in a remote location has many challenges, one of them being how to stay healthy. It is something I attack from many angles.

Local cuisine: fish

First there is the problem of dehydration. I work less than eight degrees from the equator, at sea level. Life is hot and sweaty, and I sweat a lot. This means I have to be constantly diligent about remaining hydrated. This is more than a question of drinking at least 3L of water a day, as salts become an issue with sweating. As I am aware of this, I add far more salt to my meals than I do elsewhere, plus I have vegemite with lunch every day. Vegemite is a tasty way to have my daily salt lick.

Also on the dietary front is the limited diet with not much fresh fruit. My friends who are doctors at the local hospital have commented to me on numerous occasions of the poor nutrition in the area and what that means for health. I bring with me a lot of my own food, which helps to combat this problem. I dehydrate fruit and meat to supplement my diet. I also take multi-vitamins to further boost my system. My favourite multi-vitamins are not synthetic, but are achieved by sprouting dried mung beans so that they are fresh, crunchy, yummy and nutritious snacks. Strengthening my system to help me fight disease and infection is particularly important in a remote location.

I am constantly aware of the possibility of infections and my distance from help. Australians will be familiar with the story of the asylum seeker who died from complications from an infected wound. For wounds to do this is a sad reality of life in a tropical developing country and is the reason I fight sources of infection however possible. I use hand sanitiser on a regular basis and attack any and all scratches and bites with tea tree ointment. The soap I use when I wash each day is anti-bacterial. Still, sometimes a bite will get infected and even with lots of careful wound cleaning and care, I am not winning. Then it is time to speak with a medical person, either at the local hospitals where my friends are, or via radio with our base in the Highlands, and attack with antibiotics instead.

 Local cuisine: sago

Bugs and the diseases they bring are another problem. At night I sleep under a mosquito net, when outside my net I wear some sort of insect repellent. Sometimes I burn mosquito coils or sandalwood incense sticks to drive the bugs out of the house, but as these things give me a headache I do it rarely. In wet season, when mosquitoes are more prolific, I take anti-malarials. During the dry season I give my body a break from those drugs. All year I travel with malaria rapid tests and a course of treatment drugs. The rapid tests have one major flaw: I’m not very good at hurting myself on purpose. It is a very good thing that self harm is not my strong point, until I need to prick my finger deeply enough to draw blood.

Getting enough rest is also part of staying healthy. Life on the coast is hot and exhausting. Having a siesta rather than pushing myself in the hottest part of the day helps me to remain well.

The biggest health challenge for my area is tuberculosis, or TB. It is everywhere and it is spreading. Although my doctor friends do their best, they are fighting a battle that is much bigger than them. Living in that environment and hearing the stories from the hospitals, it is something I actively seek to avoid. Having my own house gives me a big safety margin, as I am not breathing in others air all day. Having better nutrition and being generally healthy means I am less likely to succumb. Being alert to TB means that should it ever get hold of me, I would be likely to catch it early and treat it successfully. Still, I hope to never be in that situation.

Maintaining my physical health while in the village requires planning, vigilance and an acceptance that things do not always go to plan. It means being willing to recognise when I am unwell and to go for help. It means thanking God for the good health I have had so far.

PS As per usual, I left writing my blog until the last minute before I went to the village. I wrote enough posts for one-a-week for the first half of my time away, hoping that I'd write more in the village and be in a place with internet to post them before the second half of my stay. If my blog is quiet from now until late March, you know that did not happen!

All Creatures Great and Small

All things wise and wonderful,

All creatures great and small.

All things bright and beautiful,

Our Lord God made them all.

…and I would like to dispute the place of a few of them! Ants, rats, mosquitoes, spiders, snakes and crocodiles are all on the list. Here are my gripes with these animals and why I struggle to join in the joyful tone of this hymn when I think of them.

Ants. They get into everything. The little ones get into clothing and body creases, where they bite and then I itch. The big ones scare me. All sizes are capable of getting past almost every defence to eat my food before I can.

Rats. If a group of workers in the developing world go quiet, ask them if they have any stories about rats and they’ll talk animatedly for hours, each story more disturbing than the last. These plague carriers have a death defying abilities as they run up posts and outwit the smartest traps. They drive us to distraction as we try to keep them out of our houses and lives, but they constantly find their way back in.

Mosquitoes. Malaria, dengue, Ross river virus and more. I’m not sure there is anything to like about these flying disease bearers. Their buzzing keeps me awake at night. Their bites itch and remind me to keep putting on mosquito repellent and taking anti-malarials. I’m not sure what chemicals I rub into my skin a few times a day, but I choose them over the alternatives the mosquitoes may bring.

Spiders. Their redeeming feature is that they eat mosquitoes, so often they are left to live. The one who likes to build a web by my front door though, where I regularly walk through it in the mornings, shall eventually be exterminated. They are small and creepy, and much of my dislike of spiders is to do with coming from a nation with so many that are highly poisonous.

Snakes. What is that rustling sound I hear in my grass roof at times? Is it a rat or a snake? I think I prefer the snake, as it might eat the rats, but only if it stays on high and never ever comes to visit me inside my room. The mere thought of it in my kitchen makes me squirm with discomfort.

Crocodiles. A bit like sharks, people eat more crocs in a year that crocs do people, but their sheer strength and killing ability puts me on edge. As they lie on the river bank, watching us through one half open eye, I am sure they really are imagining how well we’d fit within their skin.

So, next time you look at my photos and think ‘Wow, you live in Paradise!’ remember that there is more than meets the eye. I do understand that each of these creatures has their place in the ecosystem, and that we live in a fallen world where our relationship with creation is not the way it was designed to be. Still, I am happy to have fewer of these creatures in my life.