“Palms Australia is a small personalised organisation, so they could accommodate both my husband and myself and the skills we brought,” Ms Hardy said.

Upon arrival in PNG, the couple travelled to the highlands where they were tasked with setting up a disability services sub-station near Mt Hagen, working for Callan Services – a disability support provider linked with the Edmund Rice Foundation.

“We’d use a method where people working in disabilities go into the community and give resources, and educate or train the local people to look after their own disabled,” Ms Hardy said.

“So we were promoting that model as well as setting up the sub-centre with buildings that Callan had provided, and just get services going within the district, which was quite large.

“So it wasn’t like we were walking into something that was already set up, we had to create our own roles a bit.”

To support them in this role, they were provided with a local teacher’s wage, which helped put them on a more equal standing with members of the community.

Damien Beale attends a school meeting

“It helped us be seen as one of the locals a bit more. We tried to find our way, listening to the community and used the resources we were given,” Ms Hardy said.

Now back in Australia, Ms Hardy said she would consider doing volunteering again with her family, although they would probably wait until their two children, born since their return had grown up.

The organisation they volunteered with – Palms Australia - has its origins in the Paulian Association, which was established in Sydney in 1956, providing assistance to local communities.

In recent years, Palms volunteers have been sent to communities in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, including in Tanzania, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and indigenous Australia