The primary cost of Panango is a round-trip ticket to Port Moresby, PNG, which runs around $2,200. Domestic flights in PNG have been graciously subsidized for volunteers by the PNG Government. Food and living arrangements while on Karkar are covered by a volunteer's host family and, hopefully this year, a small stipend from Panango. Depending on how much peanut butter and Em Nau! crackers (a classic favorite among past volunteers) or other snacks and souvenirs a volunteer plans to purchase, he or she should probably budget an additional $100-$500.
If you have not had certain vaccines (see "Health Concerns" below) or do not already carry health insurance that covers international emergency care, you should also consider these costs in your estimate.
Panango pairs each of its volunteers with another volunteer, and places the team with a host family in their school's village. Host accommodation varies. In the past, volunteers have lived in both western-style bungalows and traditional Karkar "bush huts," woven bamboo structures on stilts. Houses will not have running water, but may have water cisterns for collecting rainwater runoff from the roof. Expect to take most of your showers/bathes in freshwater pools at the ocean's edge (where underground springs meat the salt water). Meals are provided by the hosting family or other village members. In our experience, a steady supply of food has never been a problem, and is often supplemented by gifts of fruit from students.
In terms of a typical daily schedule, classes usually occupy the morning, and for some volunteers, an hour in the afternoon. The time thereafter can be spent at your discretion. In the past, volunteers have routinely gone spear fishing, swimming, played sports with their students and other village kids, read, visited other villages and volunteers, planned lesson plans/graded papers, helped cook dinner, and generally spent time in conversation with their hosts.
Ambassadors Evan Paki and Leslie Rowe directed Panango to Madang Province and Karkar specifically because of its stability and safety. Madang is both geographically and culturally distant from Port Moresby, Lae, and the Highlands regions, which are more dangerous. Volunteers have not had problems with crime on Karkar in the past, though we can't rule out the possibility. Petty crime is prevalent in many parts of the country, and can be a problem in Madang. Ultimately, volunteers should always be mindful of their surroundings and belongings.
Living with a host family provides an additional layer of safety. In our experience, host parents, siblings, and friends have done the utmost to provide for, escort, and vigilantly look out for the health and safety of volunteers. Nonetheless, Panango ask its volunteers to honor the following at all times:
Travel inherently exposes one to new environments, diets, and microbes, and spending a summer in PNG is no exception. While volunteers will take precautions such as boiling all water and taking anti-malarials, there is a good chance most will experience some degree of sickness in the course of a summer. That said, there are village health clinics and a hospital on the island and a larger hospital and clinics on the mainland in Madang. All volunteers are also provided with a well-stocked med kit of their own.
Panango requires that all volunteers carry traveler's emergency health insurance, which--if not covered by a current plan--can be purchased through Stanford Cardinal Care, STA Travel, or Multinational Underwriters.
We also recommend getting a series of vaccinations (if you don't already have them), as recommended by the CDC for PNG specifically: Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Typhoid. Rabies and Japanese Encephalitis vaccines are also on the list, but due to the diseases' rarity and the vaccines' expense, most volunteers have forgone these in the past.
There are two primary health concerns to be aware of on Karkar. The first is intestinal or stomach upset/traveler's diarrhea. Running water is not available on Karkar, and most locals take their drinking, cooking, and washing water from fresh water springs at the ocean's edge. More well off families (and schools) have water cisterns to catch rain runoff from corrugated roofs. We recommend that volunteers bring a water bottle with a filter, although boiled water is usually readily available--as is the instant coffee to flavor it. Also, readily available coconuts serve easily in place of water bottles with the added benefit that they work as natural rehydration salts. In terms of other diet issues, expect to consume more bananas than you ever imagined, but their effects are fortunately counteracted by the abundance of galik nuts (which have a laxative effect). We do recommend that you take a filled prescription for Cipro.
The second concern is malaria, which is endemic in PNG. All volunteers must take prophylactics, which can be purchased in the US or in Madang upon arrival (though we recommend the former). There are three choices currently offered in the states: Malarone, Doxycycline, and Mefloquine (Larium). We recommend Malarone, as it has no known side effects. Doxycycline increases skin sensitivity to sun, and is therefore not advisable for use on sun-baked Karkar. Volunteers should be aware that prophylactics are no guarantee against malaria; despite these drugs, a few volunteers have contracted malaria in the past. With treatment, they recovered within days and have reported no lasting health issues.
For a detailed report of PNG health and safety precautions, click here.
Top 10 Things Past Volunteers Wished They'd Packed 1. Books! For both our students and ourselves. 2. More pics. of family and friends to show hosts. 3. An extra digital camera card. 4. A solid pair of hiking boots. 5. More DEET. 6. Filtered water bottle. 7. A headlamp and extra batteries. 8. Cliff Bars and Gatorade. 9. A snorkel for the reef. 10. American trinkets for presents. For a complete packing list, click here. |
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