Of interest....

You may or may not have heard of the Human Development Index.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index

Take a look and see where you respective country sits. Note that PNG has the third lowest ranking amongst Asia/Pacific nations. In a recent speech by the Deputy Prime Minister it was stated that 80% of the population live in rural houses with poor access to government services. He also felt that generally speaking, things are getting worse. Students here have been protesting over the fact that standards of living are so low here and job prospects are weak, despite huge wealth in natural resources and all the money coming into PNG.

One wonders why...

Also, the following links discuss projects that two fellow VSA volunteers are working on:

Lesley is providing assistance to Leitana, a counselling organisation whose foudner, Helen Harkena, was nominated for a Nobel Prize.

http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=41797

Kim, best friend of my flatmate Melanie, is working with an advocacy agency to help resettle the Carteret Islands peoples.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1555148/papua_new_guinea_to_resettle_islanders_facing_rising_sea_level/