How UN volunteer’s been stuck in PNG

“Port Moresby is a few hours’ flight from Sydney,” she said.
“I thought I’d be home for my sister’s birthday, the birth of my best friend’s baby, and many other events in 2020.”
Unfortunately the outbreak of Covid-19 a month later re-wrote those plans.
On April 16, the first confirmed Novel Coronavirus case in Port Moresby occurred at the World Health Organisation (WHO) centre where she was working, and while her own test was negative, their team had to counter misinformation and rumours, as well as plenty of international criticism.
“At the time the pandemic was announced, WHO was still leading a national polio vaccination campaign following an outbreak last year. Prevention was critical,” she said.
“Mistrust in the WHO and in vaccinations generally will have a devastating effect on the capacity of the WHO to deliver those much needed services.”
While in PNG, she visited a remote camp in Kiunga with a UN team, crossed her fingers for a stable internet connection for five live Facebook broadcasts, and hosted a digital storytelling workshop for young people.
Coming home now means two-weeks in hotel quarantine in Brisbane costing $2,800 which she can “narrowly afford”, and while understanding the necessity, she hopes a quarantine structure accommodating different budgets will be developed to help the many families finding it unaffordable.
“This is not a cost they could ever have imagined having to account for when leaving Australia,” she said.
Set to return to local radio waves at Bankstown Auburn Community Radio, 2BACR (100.9fm) next month, Rachel is keen to promote the station as a platform for diverse voices.
“I am a strong believer in giving everyone a platform to voice their experiences, opinions and ideas,” she said.