Karlos Sarunic, IT manager at MAF, knows a thing or two about being ‘out bush’.
For him and his wife Caitlin, a good weekend means getting in the four-wheel drive and going far beyond mobile phone coverage, sleeping in a tent, sitting by the campfire and looking at the stars. He is also no stranger to epic sea journeys, having accompanied Caitlin to the Coral Sea, Australia, where she worked as a dive instructor and marine researcher. But Karlos had never been anywhere quite as remote as the Carteret Islands. He had never felt so cut off from the outside world.
Paradise in darkness
The Carteret Islands look like paradise. White beaches. Palm trees. A lagoon so blue it almost seems unreal. But behind that beauty lies a hard truth. This tiny atoll, about 100 kilometres from Bougainville, is cut off from almost everything. There’s no coastguard. No mobile phone signal. No ambulance. The only way to reach the islands is by small open boat, across four hours of open sea. But when something happens… help is far away. “Boats go missing all the time. Normally, if something goes wrong whilst you’re camping, you just drive off,” Karlos says. “But the people on Carteret Islands had no help.”
No way to call
At the small health centre, Head Nurse Bernice Kumis, knows that reality all too well. For years, she and her team cared for more than 2,000 people without reliable communication. If a patient became seriously ill, Bernice could not simply call a doctor or ask for advice. If a patient needed to be evacuated to the hospital on the main island, she could not call a boat for an emergency evacuation. In moments like these, the Carteret Islands do not feel like paradise. They feel like a dark, lonely place, completely cut off from any help.
Big change
“This is a big change!” says nurse Ann Sari. That change came when MAF Technologies installed a high-frequency radio system at the clinic. For the first time, the team can now contact medical staff in Buka, on the main island. They can ask questions, get a second opinion, order supplies and call for help. After years of silence, their voices can finally travel across the sea.
"I've been using the torch for the mothers when they are in labour and give birth."
Bright lighting
MAF brought more than a radio. The team also installed solar power and bright electric lighting throughout the clinic. For the villagers, the first evening was unforgettable. As the lights came on, people gathered outside in amazement. “Now we can see the city lights around the hospital,” Louisa Kumis, one of the Carteret islanders said. “What we normally see in town, we now have on the island!” For Bernice, these lights mean more than comfort. They mean safer care. “For two years, I’ve been using the torch for the mothers when they are in labour and give birth,” she says. “For me, it’s something that I really feel embarrassed about, because when you use only the torch, you can pick a wrong thing in the dark.” Now the maternity ward has proper lighting. The clinic can use basic medical equipment. A steriliser can be plugged in. One day, even an oxygen concentrator may be possible. A dark room became a place of safe, lifegiving work.
"There was only one Bible on the entire island."
Spiritual light
Alongside the solar panels and radio equipment, spiritual light was brought too: 100 bilingual New Testaments and 100 solar-powered audio Bibles. “Until then”, Bernice said, “there was only one Bible on the entire island.” The people received the Bibles with joy. Many can read Tok Pisin more easily than English. And for those who cannot read, the audio Bibles are a precious gift. “Plenty of people don’t know how to read and write,” she says. “So, the audio Bible is really useful to them. Thank you! You’re building the spiritual side of our people.” That same evening, children were already listening and singing along. And the next day, people used the Bibles during worship.
No longer forgotten
The Carteret Islands are still remote. The sea is still wide. The journey is still difficult. But something has changed. A nurse can call for help. A mother can give birth in the light. A community can hear God’s Word in its own language. On an island that once felt forgotten, paradise cut off from help, light now shines.
STORY / MATT PAINTER PHOTOS / FRASER NORBURY & KARLOS SARUNIC