Around Port Moresby

The past week has been spent trundling around Port Moresby with the Mission Office Director, helping out in various places, attending meetings, etc. While not a lot was completed, many things were started, continued, or moved along.

 

During the week we had a big shindig of MSC's from all over Moresby. An opportunity for the extended group to get together in one place, share a beer or three, and generally catch up and unwind. I was unexpectedly called on to speak. "Unaccustomed as I am ...." - not.

 

All of the offices have now been cabled and residence wireless networked in the 2 Mile main building. We have been gradually getting there over the past month and fixing computers as we go. Four totally dead machines have been resurrected, a further two upgraded, and a number of virus eliminated. Cabling of the Provincial residence should soon follow.

 

More training and web development also continued as we define and refine the sub-sites.

 

An interesting diversion on Saturday was a local traditional style PNG wedding ceremony. Albeit the bride and groom looked a little uncomfortable, indeed unhappy, in their regalia. However everyone else seemed in fine fettle.

 

Tonight we had another big party to farewell the Indonesian government official who resides next door. Another chance to share a beer, wine, etc. I spent some time speaking with him at length about the best places to see in Indonesia.

 

A busy week ahead beckons followed by a flight to Rabaul on Friday.

 

 

Some Random Musings on a Slow Day in Response to an Email I Received

Thomas Merton once wrote: "Whan Lax and I were walking down Sixth Avenue, one night in the Spring, the street was all torn up and trenched and banked high with dirt and marked out with red lanterns where they were digging the subway, and we picked our way along the fronts of the dark little stores, going downtown to Greenwich Village."
 
I think this is something we can ALL learn from, or not.
 
Yesterday, somewhere in the world, somebody did something. But I don't know because I wasn't there. Or to put that another way, I wasn't there because I don't know but.
 
I went shopping in Boroko this morning. Little black children were prodding me because I am white. If they prod me a lot, I may turn brown. Then they will stop prodding me, and I will turn white again.
 
If you toast white bread it turns brown, but if you toast brown bread it doesn't turn white. How do you know if brown bread is toasted? When you leave bread out, it becomes crispy, like French Bread. If you toast it, it seems like fresh toasted bread. So toasted white bread is the same whether you use fresh bread or stale bread. But stale brown bread is just like toasted brown bread.
 
A man walked into a bar ... he should wear glasses.
 
A man wearing glasses walked into a bar ... he must be drunk.
 
A man, using glasses, serves at the bar. A horse walks up to the bar. The barman looks at him and says: "So, why the long face?"
 
The Bible says: " Cursed is anyone who sleeps with his mother-in-law"! Well, duuuuurrr. This must be where mother-in-law jokes started.
 
Did you know that there are more different types of leaf in PNG that there are cans of beer in Australia on any given day? Well, neither do I. I just made it up. But there you have it, the facts don't lie! Or do they, like statistics? I don't like statistics particularly. Statistics like I particularly don't. Yoda would be proud.
 
Use the force, or the farce.
 
There is a hammering in the pipes. Actually it is on the pipes. It is the plumber, plumbing. Or just hammering on the pipes. Remember Danny Boy .. the pipes, the pipes are calling. How do pipes call? By phone I expect. Or maybe a house call. I'm not sure how you hold a house up to your ear to make a call, but there you are.
 
And here I am. But I must be going.
 
Sorry, what was your question again?

 

De Boismenu College

I spent the first three days this week over at De Boismenu College.

 

Day One, involving a little backwards and forwards from Two Mile, was focussed on getting a workable accounting system in place. I installed an accouting package that allows them to record their transactions simply and run financial reports. Together with Soloman and Fr John Mitakda, we set up a suitable chart of accounts and entered all the transactions for the year to date, running off the Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement and Balance Sheet for January. I also typed up a brief operating instruction to assist future work. I will need to go back at some point to ensure Soloman is happy with the processes, put a better backup in place, and check whether we have encountered any transactions not catered for.

 

Day Two was spent setting up the computer lab for the new year. All of the computers were heavily infected with computer viruses. Since they have no internet connection they have not been getting virus or operating system updates, however the viruses have been coming in via USB memory sticks that the students use (more on this later). One computer could be recovered, but all the others needed to be re-installed from scratch. We will need to make some arrangement for them to get virus checking updates on disk and install them regularly. I set all the computers up on a local network, with an additional place for laptops to be attached, and the ability for any PC to print to either printer.

 

Day Three I gave a presentation to the students on Communications and Media, followed by another on computers (a topic of great interest to some and not so much to others), and finally I asked them to grab cleaning materials and join me in the computer lab to give it a good clean followed by a practical of how to use the lab. One of the things I emphasised in the computer talk was the risks of virus infection and to keep their USB stick for use on the DBC computer, not to go sharing it on other computers because they will certainly be infected. After lunch I held an introductory computer class for around eight students who had limited (or in a couple of cases nil) exposure to computers. We covered all the basics right through to hands-on using word processing and spreadsheet.

 

Later I spent time with Fr John putting together a college budget for 2011.

 

A photo of the DBC computer lab is attached.

 

Peace,

Sean

 

What is Social Justice

Macarthur Social Justice Network is excited to have Mr John Ferguson, National Executive Officer of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, coming to speak to the next meeting about "What is Social Justice?".

The meeting will be held at St Thomas More Parish Hall in Ruse on Saturday February 12th starting at 2.30pm.

The Australian Catholic Social Justice Council (ACSJC) was set up by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) in 1987 as the national justice and peace agency of the Catholic Church in Australia. It aims to promote research, education, advocacy and action on social justice, peace and human rights, integrating them deeply into the life of the whole community
in Australia, and providing a credible voice on these matters in Australian society.

As the National Executive Officer, John Ferguson has a deep knowledge and understanding of what social justice means, the issues affecting social justice, and the current policies and trends in the field. Many people have heard the term 'social justice' but do not know or misunderstand the meaning of the term.

In this talk John Ferguson will answer the question "What is Social Justice" followed by a discussion of the social justice issues in the Macarthur region.

Anyone wishing to attend is asked to contact Michael on 46206047 or email secretary@msjn.org for catering purposes.

Renewal and Perpetual Vows De Boismenu College

We've been head down developing web sites and Annals for most of the past week, however on Wednesday we had something special.

 

Renewal and perpetual profession of vows was held at the De Boismenu College chapel on 2nd February 2011. Eleven MSC's recorded their vows at this mass. They were:

 

Perpetual Vows

• Roger Alabeti
• Hillary Kapei
• George Kepui
• Michael Lau
• Pius Tourai

Renewal of Vows

• Simon Tibam
• Francis Ulalom
• Ambrose Kolmaris
• Emil Thaddeus
• Blasius Kadico
• Patrick Kovova

The celebrant was Father John Mitakde MSC and the homily was delivered by Fr John Aneo. Fr John Aneo also accepted the vows as delegate of the Superior General of the MSC's.

 

Attached photo of the congregation exiing the chapel after the celebration.

 

This was followed by a lunch and the release of the second compilation of songs by the students of De Boismenu College with a concert on the lawn of the College. Featuring songs in several PNG languages the album, produced by Quake Studios, covers many styles of Christian music. The locally popular Patti Potts Doi features on a number of the songs. It is currently on cassette only at a cost of K25.00.

 

Peace,

Sean

 

Tapini

Date: 1 February 2011 14:23

I made the trek up to Tapini over the weekend and arrived back last night. It was arranged at the 11th hour (literally on Friday night) and it was a most informative experience seeing all the villages along the way and how important the church and in particular the MSC's are to the area.

Although many of the students for the Bl Peter To Rot primary school and the Sacred Heart senior school had not yet arrived back from the break, most of the teaching staff were there getting ready for the new year. I met all of the staff from both schools either at the Bereina Diocese compound before we left or otherwise at Mass in Tapini. The new teachers at the Sacred Heart school were very excited to be joining a school with such a good reputation. Some of the students took me to look at the hydro power generator that is run by the school and provides 24x7 power to the whole of Tapini.

One new project that is nearing completion is the contruction of a new health centre for the area, again with the organisation of the MSC's and assistance from benefactors. From memory the facility has separate wards for TB/AIDS (6 beds), antenatal care (3 beds), maternity care and adjoining delivery room (3 beds plus 2 delivery), general health (6 beds) and nursing station. It is due to be officially opened on 17th March. They are currently getting quotes for the new beds to go into the centre and will be seeking financial assistance from benefactors to pay for these.

I have only been one week here but have learnt so much each day that it seems longer. It is with great enthusiasm that I look forward to the next several weeks.

Attached is a photo of the new health centre at Tapini.

Peace,
Sean

 

PNG Annals Editorial Board Meeting Jan 2011

Date: 25 January 2011 16:20

 

The first meeting of the new PNG Annals editorial board was held this morning with a view to producing an Annals magazine in time for Easter. Casmiro Kito as editor ran the meeting and presented a number of matters for agreement including decisions involving advertising, content structure, and distribution. Members of the editorial group took on responsibility for specific content such as spirituality, vocations, and so forth.

 

Section content will be provided by the end of February to enable the draft copy to be produced and approved by the editorial board on March 5. In the mean time, Casimiro will be following up with printers and advertisers as well as creating the draft template ready to incorporate the articles.

 

Notices will be requested in parishes over the next couple of weeks advising that a new Annals is coming and if anyone would like to receive a copy to send their name and address to the editor.

 

Photo attached.

 

Peace,

Sean