This pic is of my son and his friend Blake. Blake is the son of a family friend. You're also seeing a VERY rare thing in this picture. A couch with soft cushions. The typical couch here is all solid wood, with thin foam pads as the cushion. They are made in country by our own joinery, and designed to not be very comfortable so you don't spend much time sitting down (-;
This particular couch happens to be from friends who bought it from a thrift store in the U.S. used it for over 5 years and then we took ownership of it.
TODAY... we had to update our Curriculum Vitae (resume) for our work permits. This year the government has implemented a new portion of the CV in which they specifically want us to list out what we've done to help PNG citizens. They want proof that we've done more than simply helped our own organization.
So I attempted to come up with everything I've done in the past quarter to help PNG citizens (why a quarter? Well I couldn't think back a whole 2 years..(-; ).
Here is what I came up with, (knowing there is a LOT more).
Training entry level helpdesk personnel in maintenance and elementary networking skills.
Have hosted training week long training classes regarding email and trouble ticket implementation for PNG employees.
Have held one on one training sessions with PNG citizens to assist in teaching troubleshooting.
Have had frequent telephone training sessions for PNG citizens in other businesses regarding DHCP and DNS and other networking protocols.
Have assisted in configuring network for STEP and TTC courses that train PNG citizens in areas of linguistics and leadership.
Have assisted BTA with wireless networking and data backup.
Have assisted with installation of VSAT in remote areas to provide internet connectivity to PNG citizens.
Have assisted Guard Dog Security Services with email configuration and dsl installation.
Have installed DSL in private homes of PNG citizens and given them basic training on wireless networking.
Have installed, configured and trained PNG citizens on how to use HFradio and HFemail in their village homes.
Have supported an educational camp for PNG children.
The thing I think I'm most proud of for helping PNG citizens, that I've done on the side, isn't the village email, it's the training.
I have put together a couple of week long training sessions with curriculum to teach basic tcp/ip and email administration skills.
As a result, even though one PNG citizen friend of mine has moved on to a public sector job, he did so because of the skills he learned here. And every now and then he runs into problems and gives me a call. Typically it's something small like how DHCP works or how to restart a DNS server... but it is interesting to me that I still get calls although he's been gone nearly a year now.
