Aid tour turns up differences

Peanut butter and lollies are treats most Australian kids love, but children living in remote villages of Papua New Guinea are not fond of the flavours we crave, according to Secret Harbour doctor Norman Pinsky.

Dr Pinsky and his 15-year-old son Will embarked on a two-and-half-week medical mission

in April to provide much-needed health care to the remote villages Kanabea and Painkoni, which lie north west of Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

‘‘My son and I brought 13 containers — seven kilos—of peanut butter to feed protein malnourished children. When we gave it to them we just expected them to love it, but some of them spat it right out,’’ he said.

They also brought 30kg of comics, magazines, balloons, stickers and lollies.

Dr Pinsky said the village had no cars, shops, roads or electricity, and little access to medicine.

‘‘The Kamea people live off the land they gather from the forest,’’ he said. ‘‘They farm, they hunt small animals and birds and they catch insects and frogs.

‘‘They have such a limited diet. They eat taro, which is like a potato, sweet potato, bananas, sugar cane, grains, pineapple and passion fruit.

Dr Pinsky said he had to walk for two days through wilderness to reach the village of Painkoni.

‘‘I wanted to go to a place that was so remote that it had never had health care before or had never had a doctor,’’ he said.

Dr Pinsky said the Kamea people were resilient and described them as ‘‘stoic’’.