Ruth James
The brutal mountain track hidden in the belly of the Owen Stanley Range taunted our embattled World War 2 Diggers over 80 years ago, and today theirs and the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels’ combined victory enables our trekkers the freedom to pay homage and much more... Dreams begin.Eternally enchanted by the people and highlands of Papua New Guinea, one trekker is compelled by the ruggedness of the Kokoda Track and a dream took hold. Conquering the Track’s challenges, experiences, and insights forged a new dimension within her, one she shares with other patriotic Kokoda-bound trekkers, along with its devastating history integrated throughout her remarkable story. This same compassion for PNG’s endearing highland people brings her back to these unforgiving regions repeatedly, engaging with the resourcefulness of highland life and its bloody history. Deeply inspired by the remoteness during her two Anzac Day treks along the iconic Track, the trekker-teacher, Ruth, returns to fulfil her dream of teaching the children English at Efogi and Edevu Villages, later introducing Allied Learning, her online English classroom. This initiative was born from remoteness, both geographically and its convenience of providing English lessons to students of all ages by video link to their phones wherever they lived. Asked by the Kokoda Track Foundation to conduct a teacher training research project at Kokoda College, Alola, Hoi, Kou Kou, Gorari, Kebara, Buna and Sanananda Elementary Schools, Ruth revisited her beloved PNG, meeting with cohorts of teachers to gather evaluations from their enduring teaching experience. Her report would be submitted to the then Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, the Honourable Peter O’Neill, seeking recognition of the skilled KTF teachers and qualifying their credentials by the Ministry for Education. Her privileged journey continues as Ruth follows the hopes and dreams of today’s generations in the country where Australia’s freedom was brutally defended and won, aided by the crucial lifeline provided by PNG’s legendary Carriers, the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels. In stirring tribute, untold stories emerge as two generations honour their famous Carrier fathers and grandfathers, including Faole Bokoi, one of the last Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, and Raphael Oimbare, one of the most recognised images of World War 2’s PNG Campaign. This true story is dedicated to the enduring teachers of the Kokoda Track.
