My name is Kayleen Guaf. I am from Morobe and Manus.
I grew up almost everywhere in PNG because of the work my parents did.
I was born in East New Britain. My parents then moved to Lae, Morobe Province. We lived in my father’s village for the first 3 or so years and then moved to Bubia, the NARI station, where we lived there for seven years. After that, we moved back to my dad’s village again, then to my mum’s in Manus, and eventually we moved to Vanimo in the early days of 2011.
After a year and half living in Vanimo, we moved again and this time to Aiyura Valley, Kainantu Eastern Highlands and lived there for seven years. Then it was Kokopo, East New Britain. That was the last move I did with my family. I am now living on my own. All the moving helped me to know and appreciate people from all walks of life and cultures. One day I am in the middle of the city and the next, I am seated under a semi-permanent classroom with other children waiting for the teacher.
I have learnt the value of life and appreciate the struggles of both of my parent’s, especially in ensuring I have access to education.
One thing about moving a lot is that you’re always the new kid in the classroom or whole school. There were instances where other kids would bully me, but there was always a friend there to defend me. These experiences helped build my confidence in standing up for myself.
Growing up in the Highlands, was very different from growing up on the coast. The climate for one. And they were the best years of my life. The people, the food and evergreen vegetation. It was also terrifying and exciting. Locals stare because I looked different. There could be a tribal fight or wild election fever, and we’d be there experiencing it all.