Walk to work, Koriki style

Kapuna Hospital grounds

As we work on teaching literacy through Uniskript in the Koriki language, we are living at Kapuna Hospital and walking to work at Ara’ava each day.

Leaving in the morning, we wind our way through the Kapuna compound, following the skinny concrete paths designed to save you from sinking into the mud after rain, between staff houses, past the wards and the maternity waiting dorm. Patients in PNG hospitals have to be self supporting, so the families who are looking after them also need somewhere to sleep, cook, do laundry etc. We pass the series of buildings for families to stay in, one building per language group that uses this hospital. We are then nearly at the edge of the property, with just the classroom to go as this is a teaching hospital for community health workers. Student dorms, the store, the workshop and more staff housing are elsewhere on the property.

Sago making spot

As we walk towards Ara’ava, the path is often muddy from overnight rains (this is the dry season!), so I have to watch my step else I slip and fall. The path follows the river downstream and is lined with gardens of banana and sweet potato. There is also a spot for making sago, with its distinctive red-orange leftovers everywhere.

The bridges over the numerous creeks feeding into the river vary in quality. Some have metal on top, left-overs from WWII. Others are a single log wide, usually with some grip marks hacked in with a bush knife, but still slippery after rain. Most have a few logs, but I often walk on just one log, as practice for the one log bridges. When the tide is out, it can be a long way to the bottom of the creek and I cross the bridges very gingerly. When the tide is in, the water can be nearly up to the bridge level and I wander across the same bridges with little concern, as it would be a short fall and a soft (but wet) landing.

Bridges

Ara’ava village itself is built along the river. The school where we are working is at the far end of the village, so we walk through the whole town, wishing people ‘Vapanima’ as we go. This path can be extremely muddy, so I wave and greet people, but rarely look up from my feet. By the time we come home, a few hours of sunshine have dried out the path and I can look around me as I walk. Depending how late in the day it is, we can be greeting people with ‘Darima!’ or ‘Pukuima’ …or switching back and forth, as people do not all agree if it is still the heat of the day, or the afternoon already. Returning to the hospital our greetings shift to English and Tok Pisin, as the patients are not all Koriki and so have various greetings of their own.

Winding back through the gardens, across the bridges and into the hospital compound, I am shaded by my umbrella. The heat and humidity here makes my head sweat, so hats are uncomfortable, whereas umbrellas provide shade while allowing a breeze… and are handy for when sun changes to rain with little notice.

The final bridge to the house I’m staying in has a cute roof over it and is followed by a flower lined path. I do not know who built it, but it is an odd piece of whimsy and makes me smile as I return home for a shower, a snack and a nap.