Three All Blacks have recently found out there is a place where you can go where no one asks you “what happened at the Rugby World Cup”.
But Brendon Leonard, Andy Ellis and Greg Somerville had to travel to the farthest reaches of Papua New Guinea.
As part of their support of the charity Save the Children, the group travelled inland from the city of Wewak to the village of Kambot.
The All Blacks support of Save the Children has seen Brendon Leonard, Andy Ellis and Greg Somerville move out of the sports pages for a week and into an unfamiliar copy of National Geographic.
And while it is doubtful many of the villagers even know who the All Blacks are, they are aware that having them is a big deal.
The All Blacks are helping build a staff house that will accommodate some of the trainers.
In the past decade, 1,200 health volunteers have been trained in Kambot village. From there they go out into the wider East Sepik community to help with birthing and ante and post-natal care.
While previous money has not been spent on in-depth research, anecdotally the health programs here are making a difference.
Most of the medical advances here have come about from New Zealand Aid money and they are keen to say thank you.
By lowering maternal and infant mortality rates the burden on the health system is lessened, which means more resources to fight other battles like the HIV epidemic.
In 18 months Save the Children will hand over control of their buildings and programs to the village and the Catholic Health Service. It says something about the trust and influence they've had here that important health initiatives, like the distribution of condoms will continue.
The true test of the past decade’s work will not come until the hand over, not that the people of Kambot are in any hurry to say goodbye.
If you would like to contribute to any of Save the Children's projects in Papua New Guinea you can contact them on 0800 167 168 or visit their website, www.savethechildren.org.nz