Welcome to the land of the unexpected! I have set up this pickletastic blog to share positive, inspiring, and interesting stories from Papua New Guinea (PNG). In 2013, I ignored the sensational stories and disregarded the narrow-minded reporting on PNG and started a 15-month placement with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO). I’ve been in PNG ever since and it has had a profound effect on me, shaping the course of my future.
I started working with VSO as a Multi-Media Producer for the education team, filming videos and taking photographs to support the work done by the innovative Language Support Programme. This 15-month role took me from the highlands to the islands, filming contextual PNG teaching resources; it was a placement of a lifetime where I took in some of the most incredibly diverse landscapes on earth. At this time, I was also the first VSO Development Advocate working to change the perception of international development, using positive storytelling to shift public perception about the invaluable work being done by NGOs. This reignited my passion for storytelling from my journalistic background and a seed was sewn for my future direction...more