Chapter 4
Whatever the Cost - Living in a Garden Shed
When Walt and Vonnie arrived, the Ukarumpa center, located in the Aiyura Valley, Papua New Guinea
was in its infancy. There were only nineteen adults and eight children who had previously arrived. So
few houses had been built that a garden shed was cleaned out for them to live in until a house was
available.
Walt found his construction skills put to use right away since houses and office buildings were just
beginning to take shape. One of Walt’s first jobs was working in the saw mill cutting lumber. One of the
buildings Walt helped build was the main Meeting House. Walt poured cement in ten-foot squares for
the floor, doing it all by hand with a wheel barrow with a wooden wheel that he built. When electricity
reached the center a few years after Walt and Vonnie arrived, Walt used his electrical skills to wire the
new buildings. Walt was a good carpenter and a multi-skilled handyman, able to fix most anything.
The first house built on the Ukarumpa Center. (Photo Courtesy of David Carne)
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