Day 1 in Papa New Guinea

We arrived in Madang, Papa New Guinea yesterday and got to come ashore to scope out what we will be doing for the next week or so. We met up with the agricultural department head to take us around. Animal husbandry isn't something that is too common here as most animals are either strays or raised for food. A vet visits this region about once a quarter so they were pretty happy to see us.

Among the sites we saw were a couple of pig farms and a teaching college in which animals were raised for food. For the resources that this country has all the places were well kept and sustained. For the most part this is what our mission will consist of: visiting animal holding sites for wellfare checks and suggesting any improvements. Like I mentioned earlier there aren't nearly as many pets as the Philippines so we will be looking for work wherever we can find it.

On the (human) medical side they brought aboard about 12 patients for surgery yesterday and will operate today. Clinics held on the ground will see more patients today for vaccinations and dental appointments. The HIV rate here was found to be 30-40% so extreme caution is being used while working with the patients. They will be holding clinics here everyday until we leave next week.



The LCU (Landing Craft Unit) is used for ship to shore movements in shallow waters.



Standing next to the monument they erected the day before we came.