by John Barr

The church office of the Evangelical Christian Church in the Land of Papua in the capital of Jayapura is perched high on a hill overlooking Numbay Bay. Below on the harbour foreshores, kampongs squat neatly over a turquoise sea. Fish are plentiful and there is an abundance of fresh crab and calamari. One could be forgiven for thinking that this is an idyllic tropical paradise. But all is not well in West Papua.

West Papua today is not the paradise it looks to be. The country continues to face an array of development, economic and political issues, that the Evangelical Christian Church in the Land of Papua and UnitingWorld are working in partnership to address.

According to international human rights monitoring groups, more than 50 percent of children under five in West Papua are undernourished, and only 40 percent are immunized against diseases. Maternal health is among the lowest in Indonesia, at three times higher than the average, putting mothers and new born children at risk.

I recently met with Rev. Jemima Mirino-Krey, Moderator of the 650,000 strong Church in West Papua. Jemima is short is stature and mild in nature, but she is leading the church with an immense amount of courage and determination through difficult times.

As we sit down, she quickly gets to the point. “We are very uncertain here in Papua.” She takes a deep breath. “The Gospel comes to liberate us… but what kind of freedom do we experience here? Our future is extremely dim. Soon we will become strangers in our own land.”

Indigenous Papuans are fast becoming a minority in West Papua, with mass migrations from the Indonesian islands of Java and Sulawesi swamping local communities. This is resulting in a loss of indigenous ownership of land and further marginalisation of the Papuan community.

Jemima and the Evangelical Christian Church in the Land of Papua care deeply about the Papuan people; for their survival and their well being. And while all is not well in Papua, UnitingWorld’s Church Partner is capable and determined to make a real contribution to the lives of West Papuans.

UnitingWorld is standing with the Evangelical Church in the Land of Papua in the areas of health, education and advocacy.

The church is continuing to play an enormously important role in delivering vital community services. The Church in West Papua play a strong role as a voice from the people to the government, and we are proud to be able to continue standing with them, learning, growing, and sharing together throughout even the most trying of times.

UnitingWorld and the Evangelical Christian Church in the Land of Papua

UnitingWorld is committed to working in partnership with the E vangelical Christian Church in the Land of Papua on the issues that they face, in the areas of health, education and advocacy.

On Numfor Island (near Biak), Church Solidarity programs are working to increase the capacity of the Church’s health clinics, specialising in maternal health.

In education, UnitingWorld is supporting the training of volunteer English language teachers from Australia, to assist the church in developing an English language curriculum for local schools.

Short term intensive English language programs take place in Australia to increase the capacity of church leaders to develop solid advocacy skills, enabling them to access vital information so they can speak out for their rights.

As a trusted partner for the long term, UnitingWorld plans to support the development of a new tertiary institution to offer indigenous Papuans opportunities to engage in university studies.

John Barr is Associate Director for Church Solidarity (Asia)