THEY have traded their cosy New Forest cottage and stable careers for the jungles of Papua New Guinea to help tackle violence against women.
Fraser and Tracy Norbury have to contend with everything from huge spiders to riots in the streets - but say their new life is "exciting, surprising, and deeply fulfilling".
The pair work for the world’s largest humanitarian air service, Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF).
Last year the service performed 62 emergency medevac flights – many of them for women who had been critically injured as a result of gender-based violence (GBV).
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Tracy, 43, said: "Violence is behind closed doors in the UK but it's in the streets in Papua New Guinea.
"I honked my horn loudly when I saw a woman being beaten by a group of men recently. I waited in my car until another vehicle came and she was dragged away. It was horrific and vile.
"We live in a walled compound and take security very seriously. We sometimes have a curfew and can’t walk around freely in certain areas."
The couple relocated to the southwestern Pacific nation in 2021 along with their two children, Oliver, 8, and Primrose, 6, who attend a primary school in the city of Mount Hagen. Lessons are taught in English as well as the locally spoken Tok Pisin.
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Tracy was working with children and families at the Freedom Church, Romsey, when Fraser applied for a job with MAF.
Fraser, 41, said: "I was itching to travel and wanted to work in a professional role that did something good for the world. I was doing finance for the YMCA Fairthorne Group when I saw an advert for MAF. It scratched that adventurous itch."
Tracy had previously spent seven years as an adult literacy teacher at Southampton City College.
"I read a report about women being tortured and thought, ‘Why would I want to take my daughter to one of the most dangerous places to be a woman?’
"I couldn’t un-read those harrowing stories and thought, ‘I can’t not go to help these women – it’s what MAF is doing almost every day.’”
Tracy and Fraser, currently on a two-month return visit to the UK, used to live at Brook, near Lyndhurst.
The family has often been reminded of the many contrasts between the UK and their new home.
Oliver said: "I love creepy crawlies – especially Golden Orb spiders, which crawl across my feet in Papua New Guinea. "I’ve missed the beaches, as well as going bowling and swimming."
Tracy cited the difference between life in the UK and PNG.
"In the UK, women are free to fully express themselves. In the highlands of Papua New Guinea, women wear huge, concealing dresses and can’t hold hands with men in public.
"But the more you connect with people, the more they accept you. I drive with my window down so I can say hello. My smile is my armour, and I don’t feel scared."
Fraser added: "Some of our friends think we are crazy, living off the grid where there are big spiders and riots in the streets. But we love it.
"Just looking at the flight list and seeing what MAF has been doing each day is extremely fulfilling. Every single day something incredible is happening in the air."
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