The Good Side of Hagen

Tennis was rained off today, a massive early afternoon storm turned the courts into a muddy swamp.

When I got home I found that the laundry I had hung out earlier in the day had been rescued from the deluge and placed neatly on a chair out of the rain on my porch. I don't know which of my neighbours did this but its typical of the many small acts of kindness and thoughtfulness I've encountered here in Hagen.

Earlier in the morning my boss, Michael, and his wife Barbara had called round to see if everything was okay and that I was safely back from Madang. Yesterday another neighbour had driven out to the airport to pick me up when I flew back in.

I am constantly receiving small gifts of fruit and veg from neighbours and the women at the Handicraft Group.

All these kindnesses make me think that Hagen sometimes suffers from a bad Press! Yes its a frontier town and it can be violent (very violent at times) but the other side of that coin is very rarely shown to the outside world. The Highlands around Hagen are beautiful, the Wahgi valley is astonishingly fertile and the people here are generous, thoughtful and don't ask for much from life. When I asked one of the Handicraft Group mothers what her dream was she told me she would love to have a tin roof on her house instead of thatch. Puts my own life into some sort of perspective.

Hagen is treating me very well - I enjoy it here. Can feel a bit isolated at times but the work is good and, if what I'm doing is successful, then it will make a significant difference to the lives of some very brave women.

I enjoy being amongst these friendly, generous people. There is something here which we have lost in our English lives.