When Jan and Marta Kaczmarek met a missionary father at Christmas in 2001, and told him they had been thinking about Christian missionary work for some time, the priest replied, very simply, “stop talking about it and get to work.”
The couple, from the town of Nadarzyn in Poland, felt they were ready for a new challenge, as their children had matured and become more independent.
“It surprised us a little that the missionary centre gave us a place for travel abroad so quickly,” Jan says.
Jan and Marta were given three months to prepare themselves, after which they travelled to Tanzania, to work in a missionary centre in Morogoro. Then, in 2005, several Capuchin fathers approached them, asking if they wanted to continue their work in Papua New Guinea. The pair agreed, and after lengthy preparations – involving health checks, vaccinations, obtaining visas and work permits – they arrived in Tari Valley in Papua New Guinea, to begin work in the diocese of Mendi.

Marta and Jan's straw hut

The couple received a house and worked for a year and a half at the local school. Established by nuns, the school was beautifully maintained, and situated on verdant, picturesque land.
Marta, a secondary school geography teacher, was surprised by the educational system in Papua New Guinea. The students’ average age was 25; however, as there were no birth records, many students cannot be sure of their ages, and even when they were born. The majority of young people do not attend school, cannot read, write, or even sign their names.
“The local people ... live a life that seems unrealistic in today’s world,” she says. “They are separated from the rest of the world. They don’t really know any reality beyond their mountains.”
Marta recalls that teaching was difficult. The students’ handbooks were often provided by other countries such as Australia, and were hence unsuitable. The students’ style of learning and behaviour were also improper at times.
“You have to remember that money for them [the people of Tari] is always converted into pigs,” says Jan. “A family would have to sell two pigs to send one child to school for one year.”

Living amongst the villagers, and adapting to their culture, also proved difficult at first. Jan and Marta had to familiarise themselves with a system of life that was entirely unfamiliar.
“For us, everything seemed so new,” says Marta. “We had to ask about everything, everything puzzled us, but the people very kindly and patiently explained everything.”
The quarter of a million people that live in Tari Valley subsist by their own means – they eat the produce planted in their own gardens, or the animals they grow. Sweet potato is the population’s staple. Bananas, pineapple and cabbage are also plentiful on the island.
“The everyday life of the people is simple,” says Marta. “They just occupy themselves in existing – from day to day.” The women work in their gardens, many children help them, while others collect firewood; there is no electricity in Tari and hence the day ends at about 6:30pm.
The villagers’ clothes are also second-hand. Wearing shoes is not advisable in Tari, as the climate is too hot and damp. Jan was urged to bring Wellington boots, but quickly discovered they would be useless and would swiftly fall apart, due to the heat. He recalls that in the end, it was better just to wear sandals or walk about barefoot.
The couple also found communication with the villagers to be difficult. Educated Papua New Guineans speak Pigin English; the most educated, English. Otherwise, however, the locals spoke in their native Huli tonuge, a language Jan says was dissimilar to any other he had ever heard.

The first priests arrived in Tari Valley in the 1950s. American Capuchin friars later established missionary stations. Jan and Marta recall they had to set a good example when living together, as they were always under observation from inquisitive villagers, especially in such a small, insular community.

The males of the village prepare for a special mass

“For us, it was a great privilege to be in such a place with such people, who have really only known Christianity for a very short time,” says Jan. “The work of a missionary isn’t about doing; it's about being among the people.”
Jan also stresses that the greatest needs for the community were proper textbooks from which the students could learn, and contact with morally upright people.

Life on the island was not, however, always enjoyable. Indeed, Jan and Marta often had to confront dangerous and potentially life-threatening situations.
“On the face of it, it seems like a peaceful country,” says Jan. “But we came to know a good deal of fear in several situations.”
A student strike occurred in 2007, during which several teachers were nearly killed and the Bishop was forced to evacuate the school. The reasons for the sudden aggression were unknown, though probably stemmed from political motivations.
Jan also recalls that seemingly ordinary situations could actually be extremely dangerous. The couple had often heard of encounters with bandits by the roadsides; while they themselves managed to avoid such unpleasant situations, many travellers would be forced out of their vehicles, and all of their possessions would be stolen.
“Everyone walks around with a bush knife in hand”, says Jan. “At first, we were unaware that they were always ready to use them if need be. One day, we were driving slowly through a marketplace, and one of them [tribesman] swung his knife and hit the car, on the side where my head was.”
Luckily, Jan was not injured. Others, however, have not been so fortunate.

Tari schoolchildren celebrate 'Social Justice Day'

During the last days of their stay, one of the school’s workers wounded his own son with a knife and, on the same occasion, beat his wife such that she was taken to hospital, and needed to be connected to a drip.

Jan and Marta insist that the country is generally safe. Where conflict does occur, however, it stems from inter-tribal warfare. They recollect incidents where whole parishes and schools were razed because of tribal conflict.
Marta particularly notes that revenge in the Huli culture may be all-consuming at times. She explains that the people’s behaviour can be childish, too – that tribal members will not give any forethought to their actions and that they can "explode" easily.
“It’s very hard to extract any information from them,” says Marta. “They are a closed people, they speak very little and have their own clan secrets. We were told that you could live with them for many, many years and yet you would never know what idea could come into their heads.”
When conflict erupts, the police are rarely called. Law is based on mutual compromise and oral settlements of disputes – the whole community will either agree to ‘compensations’ for disputes or to communal retribution.
Marta argues that the people's often-unpredictable behaviour is based upon the very nature of clan life – the fact that it is so insular, so narrow-minded.
“There is no contact with others, they don’t travel abroad, it’s rare for someone to visit them, they don’t even have televisions to see how cities look, what their own country looks like, they can’t imagine where they are in that country at all.”

Marta and Jan with fellow missionaries and teachers

She notes, however, that this inwardness can be a very positive asset.
“In their own way, they have their own happiness in the way they live, and while they enjoy inter-tribal peace, they’ll stay happy,” she says.

As Jan and Marta now return to Poland, they are left with many memories. They also face many challenging choices and decisions.
“We don’t know how the next few months will arrange themselves,” says Jan.
The couple want to continue their charitable work and will therefore need to find a suitable church. They emphasise that they want to use the talents and skills they have learned in their work abroad. They also want to be closer to their children.
Their daughter, 22, and son, 32, both live in England. The couple realise they’ll probably end up living in England half of the time, and in Poland the other half. The children were initially proud of their parents and the work they were undertaking. Now, however, they just want them back.
“We could gladly have stayed at the school, because the work was enjoyable and we felt there was still a lot of work for us,” says Marta.
She admits, however, that in the end the children had became quite worried about their safety from the stories they had heard and the news they had received.
“Fact is fact. Danger can be serious,” Marta admits with a smile.