Norah Riddick
"Working With Disability in Papua New Guinea"
Volunteer Service Abroad.
Norah is a physiotherapist in Whakatane, and went to Papua New Guinea with Volunteer Service Abroad, which she describes as an amazing experience.
She said that people with disabilities are the largest minority group in the world.
Her experience had been an eye-opener and a privilege.
Norah is a physiotherapist in Whakatane, and went to Papua New Guinea with Volunteer Service Abroad, which she describes as an amazing experience. She said that people with disabilities are the largest minority group in the world. Her experience had been an eye-opener and a privilege.
She did two assignments. She was based in Bouganville in a town called Arawa, and after 16 months went to Buka for the remainder of her duty. She had been home for about 20 months, when she started getting missed calls from PNG. It is the norm that people who can't afford to call, ring and hang up showing a missed call, so you then call back and bear the cost. A young woman that she had worked with in PNG wanted her to go back and work, which she did.
VSA was formed in 1962, and Sir Edmund Hillary was the first president. In the 55 years since, over 3500 New Zealanders have been away on assignment. The volunteers are looked after - they attend briefings on their duties, are provided with accommodation, living allowances, and medical insurance. Long term assignments are for periods over twelve months, and there are shorter term assignments. Their goal is to transfer skills and knowledge so that the changes achieved during an assignment remain sustainable after a volunteer returns to New Zealand. All assignments relate to poverty reduction.
Norah described the typical life of a disabled man, living in a very humble shelter. He had been given a water tank 2 years ago, but had no gutters on his roof to fill it, so it still lay on its side unused. A target this year is to get his tank set up. They got him set up in a little business. To start the business, they gave him the equivalent of $10, and with that he buys cell phone top up cards. He then on sells the cards for a small profit. That money helps keep him fed.
Norah helped run education on children's rights. They are very tough on their children, and they didn't know that children had rights. They acted harshly to their children because it had always happened that way. They also ran classes on disability. Physical disability is hidden away as a shame. Norah was placed with Callan Services, a catholic organisation, whose aims are to build an inclusive society where people with disabilities are welcomed, and can participate in education, work and community life. Norah worked with the Deaf Education Rural Unit, which uses a lot of sign language, and did early intervention in pre-schools and those with disabilities. They mix the disabled kids with the normal kids, as little kids don't care. She also did school visits, where there was a lack of resources, a lack of awareness of how to manage a paralysed child, and to educate the teachers of how to cope with deafness, visual impairment, and children with a learning difficulty. Other programmes were community based aid (e.g. delivering wheel chairs), and ear and eye screening. Home visits were not done in the home, but in an open area. It would be arranged for a child to visit. The whole village would come and watch, some would then rush off and bring back some other children who had been hidden away, as there was too much shame. Norah also took part in training the trainers and the volunteers for community based rehabilitation.
For the volunteers and entertainment, there were always carnivals, festivals, and sing-sing. Food was available from the market kaikai, with good fish markets, vegetable and fruit available five days a week.
For further information, please visit www.vsa.org.nz.
She did two assignments. She was based in Bouganville in a town called Arawa, and after 16 months went to Buka for the remainder of her duty. She had been home for about 20 months, when she started getting missed calls from PNG. It is the norm that people who can't afford to call, ring and hang up showing a missed call, so you then call back and bear the cost. A young woman that she had worked with in PNG wanted her to go back and work, which she did.
VSA was formed in 1962, and Sir Edmund Hillary was the first president. In the 55 years since, over 3500 New Zealanders have been away on assignment. The volunteers are looked after - they attend briefings on their duties, are provided with accommodation, living allowances, and medical insurance. Long term assignments are for periods over twelve months, and there are shorter term assignments. Their goal is to transfer skills and knowledge so that the changes achieved during an assignment remain sustainable after a volunteer returns to New Zealand. All assignments relate to poverty reduction.
Norah described the typical life of a disabled man, living in a very humble shelter. He had been given a water tank 2 years ago, but had no gutters on his roof to fill it, so it still lay on its side unused. A target this year is to get his tank set up. They got him set up in a little business. To start the business, they gave him the equivalent of $10, and with that he buys cell phone top up cards. He then on sells the cards for a small profit. That money helps keep him fed.
Norah helped run education on children's rights. They are very tough on their children, and they didn't know that children had rights. They acted harshly to their children because it had always happened that way. They also ran classes on disability. Physical disability is hidden away as a shame. Norah was placed with Callan Services, a catholic organisation, whose aims are to build an inclusive society where people with disabilities are welcomed, and can participate in education, work and community life. Norah worked with the Deaf Education Rural Unit, which uses a lot of sign language, and did early intervention in pre-schools and those with disabilities. They mix the disabled kids with the normal kids, as little kids don't care. She also did school visits, where there was a lack of resources, a lack of awareness of how to manage a paralysed child, and to educate the teachers of how to cope with deafness, visual impairment, and children with a learning difficulty. Other programmes were community based aid (e.g. delivering wheel chairs), and ear and eye screening. Home visits were not done in the home, but in an open area. It would be arranged for a child to visit. The whole village would come and watch, some would then rush off and bring back some other children who had been hidden away, as there was too much shame. Norah also took part in training the trainers and the volunteers for community based rehabilitation.
For the volunteers and entertainment, there were always carnivals, festivals, and sing-sing. Food was available from the market kaikai, with good fish markets, vegetable and fruit available five days a week.
For further information, please visit www.vsa.org.nz.