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| 1192 - Headquarters of the Anglican Church in Mount Hagen |
"Dear Bishop Nathan,
"I am contacting you in regard to my hope and plan to visit the Simbai Valley later this year with my granddaughter, Shiva Yahaghi, in order to bring back photographs which my husband and took among the Maring-speakers in 1963-1964. At that time I was one of the team members of the Columbia University Expedition to study the the Human Ecology of the New Guinea Rain Forest. We were greatly aided by Father Peter Robin and his wife, Olive, in Simbai itself, and also by Herbert and Catherine Bapera whose son, Napoleon, was a little boy, out at the Church and School they had established in Gai. After we left PNG, we occasionally exchanged letters with Herbert, even after he returned to Popondetta, but then we lost contact.
"We always wished to return some of the photographs to people who were little kids when we were there and who might remember us, as well as giving photos of their parents and grandparents to children who have been born in the many years since we were there. Then my husband died in 2002. It is only now, with the encouragement of my granddaughter, that this trip is becoming a reality. I received a little travel grant from my college in the USA (Mount Holyoke College) and my granddaughter is organizing a crowd-funding to raise money for her transportation from Australia where she is spending a year working. We are planning to attend the "Our Media" conference at the University of Goroka toward the end of July. At that conference we will be presenting an exhibit of the photographs. We are also hoping to give a workshop at DWU in Madang centered around the photographs.
"I have not yet been able to get into direct contact with anyone who lives in Simbai. I have just found a PNG government reference to the Simbai Vocational School run by the Anglican Church. It would be wonderful if there were a school there. Maybe my granddaughter and I could present the photographs to the students and teachers and then leave a small permanent exhibition with them. Maybe they even already have a small museum of local history to which we could contribute. In a second email I am attaching a flyer designed by my granddaughter to give you a better idea of our project. I am emailing it separately in case it takes a long time to download.
"We would be extremely grateful for any suggestions you may have regarding contacts in Simbai or contacts with other groups who might be interested in this glimpse into the history of PNG or of the Simbai area in particular.
"Sincerely,
"Allison Jablonko"
"Dear Allison,
"Thank you Allison. We would be more delightful to having you and your daughter visit Gai and the surrounding villages in Maring valley in Simbai district of Madang Province. In 2008 I visited Kombaku, Mondo Gai and Numbla.
"This year I have sent Gai man with his wife to train at Newton Theological college in Popondetta to become Priest in the Church of God. I will pass your message to Simbai Vocational School and the people of Maring about your revisit into our villages. My people in the area will be more fond of meeting you and your daughter.
"Thanks Allison.
"+Nathan Ingen"
Then Shiva chimed in with her own email two days later:
"Dear Bishop Nathan,
"It is so great to hear from you!
"We are really looking forward to coming into Simbai. We have planned 2 trips.
"Trip 1:
"We will be taking a flight on July 11th from Mt. Hagen into Simbai. We will be leaving on July 18th back to Mt. Hagen.
"It will be me (Shiva - Allison's granddaughter), Allison, Alvilda (Allison's daughter), Koumanieu (our friend from Goroka). We also have a new wonderful addition to our 'team'. These are three of my friends, Sebastian, Alicia and Philippa who travel the world making documentaries on untold stories and they will be joining us for this trip.
"Trip 2:
"We plan on coming into Simbai for a longer time on August 1st, until August 9th or 15th - depending on the situation.
"In this trip, it will be fewer of us, and for now it might be 4 of us.
"We have been told to look into the two guest houses, Simbai Guest House and Kalang Guest House. We have been given the contact of Dickson Kangi to arrange this accommodation. Do you think this is a good suggestion? Although we do not know necessarily how many nights we would stay there it would be best to book for now. If you have any advice on this, considering for the first trip it is 7 of us, we are open to suggestions.
"Will you be in Simbai when we arrive?
"I look forward to meeting you!
"Sincerely,
"Shiva"
"We are looking forward to seeing you all. I have sent information to people from Gai to meet you all at Simbai and take you to Gai. For accommodation, I have spoken with the Parish Priest in Simbai to accommodate you all. If that is okay with you please let me know. That will not cost you much. For the guest House will cost you more. I have spoken to Fr. Samson Songriken and he is looking forward to accommodate you all for your information. I am in Mt.Hagen and if time permits I may accompany you on this journey. I know that you have booked your flight to Simbai but we also have airstrip at Kombaku as well. Kombaku is between Simbai and Gai for your information.
"Thanks.
"+Nathan Ingen"
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