PNG Gardens: Essential for Life

Yes, we finally arrived back at Kudjip Nazarene Hospital on January 15^th. We had a few travel glitches and wound up with a forced overnight in Brisbane. All our luggage made it through and we arrived rested and in good spirits (courtesy of Qantas airline). I have been working very hard since then doing OB and Gyn things, so a little late on posting anything to you. Sorry about that! (Tyronza has been asking for a blog every day or so.)

When we arrived, the area was just recovering from an unusually long, 2-3 month, drought. Typically, it rains nearly half an inch each day here, so the problem with gardening is usually “too wet – not too dry!” With the drought, people had no way to water their gardens and everything was dried up. There were no vegetables growing and therefore little to eat. That is a major problem, since most of the millions of people in the highlands depend on their gardens for their daily food. I don’t know of anyone who starved to death, but there were plenty of skinny people who were very happy to see the rains resume. Most gardens in our area are rapidly recovering and now beginning to produce. We are grateful for the rain and the answered prayers.

I had never tried any gardening in Papua New Guinea, but since the garden needed planting, I decided to give it a try. (Our local garden plot is primarily courtesy of Dr. Ted Henderson. He and his wife, Rachel, were in Kudjip for a year and have now returned to the US.) I have planted peas, cilantro, tomatoes, onions, carrots, parsnips, beets, radishes, oyster root, squash, cucumbers, peppers and arugula! So far, I am having a bit of a problem getting anything to come up. The squash, cucumbers and radishes are looking great, but all else looks like a failure. Don’t know what I am doing wrong! I will have to talk to some locals for advice. I think ants might be part of the problem. I’m now putting together a sprouting area. Tyronza says that she hopes I get it figured out soon. She is looking forward to getting vegetables without going to market!

Hope you are well and surviving the winter weather. Please know that we pray for friends and family back home each day. We’ll be back in Cape the end of April and Spring should be waiting for us there!

Mi bi lukim yu bihain,  (I’ll see you later.)

Scot (Dr. P) & Tyronza

ps: will write again soon about medical stuff

Protein for Patients

The typical village diet of the highland Papua New Guinean is kaukau (sweet potatoes) and greens daily. A couple of days a week they might add tapioca root or taro or banana. It is a diet of predominant starch and little protein. There is vegetable and animal protein available, but it is not regularly consumed. Peanuts and beans are grown in some gardens. On special occasions at parties “mumus”, a pig “pik” chicken “cakaruk” or at very special time a cassowary may be eaten. There is also the occasional bat, rat, kuskus, tree kangaroo, and dog or banana spider. No form of protein goes to waste!

Daniel and Timothy preparing meal.

At Kudjip Nazarene Hospital, the only hospital furnished meal is one cooked kaukau per day. If a patient is considered malnourished, the doctor may order a serving of nutrition soup to be given in the mornings. Nutrition soup contains cooked greens, cabbage and cans of “tin fish” (mackerel). Until a few months ago unless there was a special holiday, this was the limit of the hospital food preparation.

Timothy in the hospital kitchen.

Last year the nursing staff began requesting protein for the patients to promote increased healing and recovery. Some of the missionaries began to have a lesser meal once a week and contribute the difference in cost into a special fund, “Protein for Patients”. As volunteers began to hear of this program, some would leave extra funding behind when they departed. One missionary couple buys boxes of eggs every month or so; hard boils them and hands them out to patients on the wards.

Timothy opening the "tin fish."

Susie and Timothy completing preparation.

This fall, Scot and I had a friend from Cape Girardeau call and say he and his wife would like to contribute to our mission endeavors. We gratefully accepted their gift and once at the hospital were able to direct those funds into the “Protein for Patients”.

Timothy and Susie ready to serve.

This past week I spend time at the hospital cooking station (calling it a hospital kitchen is rather grandiose) and was able to talk to Timothy and Susie. I was told that twice a week, on Wednesday and Sunday, a meal is now prepared for the patients. Basically it includes the nutrition soup and a cooked kaukau. They serve approximately 130 patients at a time. When I observed, the cooked greens included cabbage, two other types of greens, green onion, and fresh ginger. After this was cooked and divided into two large bowls, eight cans of “tin fish” were added to the mixture.

"was meris" collecting the meal

The “was meri” (the woman taking care of the patient – typically a family member or a female from the village) would bring their dish to the serving window. The greens and a kaukau were given to each. I saw an older woman that didn’t have a dish and she brought a small plastic bag.

I don’t know how effective the program is at this point, but it is certainly a start. Adding some protein to the diet of a hospital patient is a good way to begin the healing process.

May God bless you and your family,

Tyronza & Scot (Dr. P)

February 19, 2015

February 19, 2015

 Dear Friends,

Sorry I am so tardy in publishing my first blog of PNG 2015. (It isn’t because Tyronza hasn’t asked!) Tyronza and I have been very busy settling back into Kudjip Nazarene Hospital life and routine.

We left the USA on January 14^th and traveled to the Philippines for a ten day diving and land vacation. Those of you who are Tyronza’s facebook friends have already seen some of our pictures. The diving was fantastic and we had a great time.

Tyronza's transportation to the Bible College

We arrived in Papua New Guinea on January 28^th and started work almost immediately. Tyronza has been working off the station at the Nazarene Teacher’s College helping with admissions for the new school year. Scot is back in the saddle doing gynecologic surgery, helping to manage the obstetrics ward, labor and delivery, and seeing patients in the outpatient clinic. Nothing really exciting to report.

I have had one maternal death since our arrival. She was suffering from acute liver failure and did not respond to any attempt at medical management. The baby was term, so we got him out healthy, but the mother continued to slide downhill. Once we established that she would not survive, the husband boxed her up and took her home. He said it would be much easier to get her home before she died rather than after!

Sorry to hear you have been having such cold weather. The weather here has been nice, but with much rain, probably 15-20 inches in the past three weeks. We typically have a few hours of sunshine each day.

Scot with Gabrielle, medical student from New Zealand

Oops, this is Tyronza speaking and I have neglected to complete and post this entry for several days. In fact, it is now Sunday morning, March 8^th. Rain count is probably up to 25 inches. I was going over to the Bible College for a couple of weeks and would have cooking to attend to upon my return. We enjoy our time here with our Kudjip friends, but we do miss family and friends and home. I am thankful for email and facebook that allows us to stay connected.

We are hopeful that your winter will soon come to an end and that a beautiful spring will follow all the cold weather and snow Swe have been hearing about.

Praying God’s blessing upon each one of you,

Dr. P (Scot) and Tyronza

twpcgi@gmail.com