Heike Le Ker
The postage stamps from Papua New Guinea are like a window into an exotic world for Verena Thomas. They show dark-skinned, colorfully painted people, strange jewelry and lush landscapes. The letters the stamps are affixed to were sent by her great uncle, Catholic missionary Johannes Nilles, in the 1980s. It was the first time that Thomas, then a girl living in the small German town of Hemmersdorf, learned about life in straw huts, about droughts and about other faiths.
Fifteen years later, in 2001, Thomas herself traveled to Papua New Guinea. Twenty-three at the time, she wanted to know more about how her great uncle, who had since died, had lived in a country that was so very different from their homeland.
There, she encountered the Chimbu people, a tribe that lives in a small highland province in the country's interior. For 54 years, until 1993, Nilles had been their chief, their father, their "papa," as they called him. He spoke their language and he took care of them. "I was overwhelmed by the warmth with which the people received me, because I was his great niece," Thomas says.
The media scholar has had a special bond to the country ever since and now even lives there herself. Like her great uncle, she also has a mission: She wants to use media to create a stronger networks between people. In doing so, she hopes to improve their health and education. At the University of Goroka, in the country's seventh biggest city, Thomas established the Center for Social and Creative Media six years ago. "I want to pave the way for people here to be able to learn from each other," Thomas says. "There are so many good ideas here, but they often get stuck in one place."
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