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Papua New Guinea Tag

A community in Papua Guinea came together to construct a system to improve the water quality of their entire village. 

In the remote village of Masingara in Western Province, the people have been determined to improve the quality of life in their community.  

For years, people in the area had been sourcing their water from an unprotected pond outside the village. Despite it being fed by a natural spring, the water quality was very poor and people had to travel long distances to collect it.  

Locals say the pond was used by the first missionaries who arrived in the area more than 150 years ago. 

The people of Masingara spoke to their local government Ward Member and village Development Committee about possibilities for new water infrastructure and found out what they needed: a ‘spring box’ to extract the water before it becomes contaminated, and a large header tank to store and pump the water to three points across the village.  


They sought expertise from the United Church of Papua New Guinea (UCPNG) water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) program team and funding for materials through the Australian Government Church Partnership Program (CPP). 

The people then mobilised their community and church to support the venture through donations and volunteer labour.    

The whole community contributed, applying a philosophy of ‘sweat equity’ to ensure everyone played their part bringing stones and gravel to the construction sites, digging trenches and installing the pipes.  

The project was a huge success, with water now being pumped by solar power from the spring box to the header tower and then on to three locations across the village.  

UCPNG WASH Program Team Leader Clement Nusama said he was thrilled to see the determination of the community to see the project through and hopes it will inspire future development projects in the area. 

“When the team and volunteers finally connected up the pipes to the spring head, they were excited to see how clear the water was when it flowed to the surface, compared to how murky and filled with algae it was,” he said.  

Well done to the people of Masingara, UCPNG and the Church Partnership Program (CPP) for working together to bring clean water to another remote community in Papua New Guinea!  

The PNG Church Partnership Program is supported by the Australian Government through the Papua New Guinea–Australia Partnership. It impacted the lives of 14,300 people over the past financial year.

COVID-19 cases are rising uncontrolled in Papua New Guinea, putting thousands of people at risk in remote areas without access to clean water or adequate health care. The outbreak has also exposed Australia’s north to a new wave of infection.

The Australian Government has responded to the emergency with a plan to immediately send 8,000 COVID-19 vaccines to PNG alongside an Australian Medical Assistance Team. The aim is to protect front line health workers, but the long-term race to vaccinate people in the provinces faces severe challenges.

“In the Highlands there are strong beliefs about witchcraft and people have traditionally used poisoned arrows and foods against others, so people are very suspicious of anything that is injected into the body,” says Bena Seta, who manages the community services projects of UCPNG.

“A focus on the book of Revelation and the apocalypse complicate people’s understanding of the pandemic, and there is also just not a great deal of awareness about modern medicine or the use of vaccines in general.”

Rumours about the vaccine have been running rampant in PNG, with some members of parliament supporting the idea that they are unsafe.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) have recognised the critical importance of working in partnership with PNG churches, who have reach and influence in areas where the virus is growing unchecked.

We have joined with other churches and are working urgently to talk with people about their fears and reassure them that the vaccine is safe,” Bena says. “We did the same with polio and measles vaccinations, and we had good success. We know how to make this work but we need the time and resources to do it.”

High rates of infection

Staggeringly high infection rates have been recorded. Of 91 people tested in a single day, 82 returned a positive test, leading Queensland to suspend flights to Cairns from Papua New Guinea. Movement in and out of communities in the mining industry could be driving the spike in infections, with workers transmitting not just within the country but also to North Queensland.

“We are not even sure how much community transmission there is because the rate of testing isn’t good,” says Bena, who waited five hours in a line for his test at the local hospital. “And isolating while you wait for a test result is very difficult for people in both the city and rural areas. What about work? What about food?”

UnitingWorld supports UCPNG to run a widespread behaviour change campaign to prevent the spread of COVID-19 across communities in PNG

Funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and UnitingWorld donors, UnitingWorld’s partner UCPNG has been offering practical training to health workers, trying to increase the number of sanitation stations in schools and going village to village to encourage social distancing, hand washing and the wearing of masks.

“To be honest we are very fearful – we have seen what can happen in even affluent countries with this disease,” Bena says.

“If this really spreads to rural areas, where there is not much access to clean water or health workers, things will be very very difficult. We know we need to act very quickly here.”

How you can help

You can support our ongoing work with UCPNG to provide critical public health advocacy on COVID-19 and vaccines; as well as clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) education and infrastructure in rural communities by making a donating today.

Please make your donation online at www.lentevent.com.au or call us on 1800 998 122

The United Church in PNG Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project and COVID-19 response activities are supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).

Our partners, the United Church in Papua New Guinea (UCPNG), have been running a successful behaviour change campaign for many years, teaching thousands of people about the importance of clean water and good hygiene. When the pandemic hit Papua New Guinea, they were ready to expand this work to include COVID-19 awareness and prevention, and they’ve been out in force educating communities about the threats of COVID-19 and the importance of regular hand washing.

With the permission of the PNG Government, over the past six months the UCPNG team (along with volunteer change agents) have:

  • educated 14,500 people on best practice water hygiene and sanitation
  • distributed 687 pamphlets, 2505 posters, six banners and 3840 bars of soap
  • worked with 11 congregations, 14 communities and six schools along the East Cape Coast

A team of three theologians also shared COVID-19 safety messages to help people understand this and other disasters from a theological perspective. One of them was Kerron, a recent Master of Theology graduate of Raronga Theological College. “Every home now is implementing the tippy tap approach to wash hands in the villages we visited, church seats are marked a metre apart and masks are sewn by women to help with schools and public,” said Kerron.

Thank you for supporting the work of our partners UCPNG and helping them make a huge impact in their communities!

 

The United Church in PNG Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).

 

 

 

 

 

Header image: A Volunteer with UCPNG’s ‘Rait Mama’ behaviour change campaign.

Early this week we received news of the death of Reverend Sir Samson Lowa, former Moderator of our partner, the United Church in Papua New Guinea (UCPNG).

Rev Lowa will be remembered as a great Pacific leader and peacemaker who saved a church, championed ecumenical partnerships and influenced all those around him with humility and servant leadership. Leaders of the Uniting Church in Australia past and present have been paying tribute to a remarkable man and leader this week.

Former National Director of Uniting International Mission (now UnitingWorld) and close friend, Reverend Bill Fischer said of him:

“Rev. Samson Lowa was a most outstanding spiritual leader. He was of small stature, was gentle and humble, and radiated a deep faith and a genuine and pure heart. He reflected the love and peace of Christ and touched the hearts of all those he met.”

When Rev Lowa was elected Moderator in 1998, UCPNG was reeling from leadership disputes and facing insolvency. Banks were threatening to sell church properties to recoup debts. Rev Lowa met with the banks to negotiate a repayment plan so that churches could stay open, even offering to go to prison for the unpaid debts.

After negotiating a solution, he dealt with the leadership and transparency issues in the church, shifting the moral culture and steering UCPNG into the well-governed church that it is today.

Former National Director of UnitingWorld Reverend Dr Kerry Enright remembers Rev Lowa’s leadership as a turning point for the entire church that can be credited to the “power of his humble and transparent goodness.”

“… that goodness flowed through a large and complex church, hundreds of languages, many islands, dispersed people. When he retired, he left a church that had hope and a sense of unity,” said Rev Dr Enright.

Rev Lowa was influential in establishing the Church Partnership Program (CPP), an ongoing ecumenical collaboration of PNG churches to strengthen the institutional capacity of churches to deliver crucial health and education services, as well as activities in gender equality, social inclusion, peace and disaster risk reduction.

Current National Director of UnitingWorld Dr Sureka Goringe said his legacy in Papua New Guinea and Australia taught us what is possible when we choose to connect and have real relationships across boundaries. Both parties can be enriched forever.

“His recent work in brokering peace between communities in Bougainville in the run up to the referendum was nothing short of miraculous and inspiring – a testament to Rev Lowa’s courageous faith, and commitment to building bridges and healing relationships,” said Dr Goringe.

Immediate past National Director of UnitingWorld Rob Floyd also remembers the way he brought people together to solve problems.

Rev Samson Lowa was a great leader and a great friend. Samson was loved and respected by everyone he met. He always made time to meet and listen to people and was able to bring people together in fellowship and shared purpose, often in very difficult situations,” said Mr Floyd.

During his time in leadership, Rev Lowa was a strong advocate for gender equality and the role of women in the church. When asked about his role in establishing the CPP, he was always keen to credit women’s fellowship groups on the success of church-based community development in PNG and for convincing the Australian Government to follow their lead.

“The women’s ministry is the most powerful ministry in the United Church of Papua New Guinea,” he said in 2012.

Throughout his life, Rev Lowa made strong connections with people and churches throughout Australia and the Pacific.

In Australia, he formed close friendships with Aboriginal leaders Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra, former Moderator of Northern Synod, and civil rights leader Rev Charles Harris, who established the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC). Rev Lowa supported Harris with the formation of UAICC and regularly attended Uniting Church Triennial Assemblies to connect with First and Second Peoples of the UCA.

Rev Dr Gondarra wanted to pay tribute to Rev Lowa this week in Tok Pisin language, as a sign of the deep respect and connection they shared:

Mi bin bungim Talatala Samson Lowa long nambawan taim, taim emi kam wok wantem Uniting Church NSW Synod long hia long Australia.

Talatala Samson wantem Rollie Bush na Pastor Charles… blong Uniting Church Townsville ibin wok bung wantem, long kamapim gopas wok na mekim kamap driman na visin blong faundasin bilong Aboriginal na Islander Congress aninit long lukaut blong Uniting Church Australia.

Lo makim UAICC, mi tok tenk yu long Papa God long sevis bilong Rev Lowa. Em trupla lida, brata insait long Krais, na man husat ibin sanap pas klostu wantem mipla.  Mipla tok tenkyu long yu.

Rev Lowa was widely known and respected across the Pacific region.

Reverend James Bhagwan, General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches called him an “ecumenical giant,” whose passing calls each of us to reflect on our own contribution to God’s people and creation. 

“We give  thanks to God for the life and ministry of servant leadership of Rev. Lowa and his contribution to the ecumenical movement. The passing of this humble ecumenical giant calls us to reflect on what our contribution, what our legacy will be as we serve God’s people and creation in the Pacific during these challenging times,” said Rev Bhagwan.

In 2010, Rev Sir Lowa was awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in recognition of his long service to education and the community as Moderator of the United Church in Papua New Guinea.

Uniting Church in Australia Assembly President Dr Deidre Palmer has asked UCA members to keep Rev Lowa’s family and colleagues in the UCPNG in their prayers.

“We give thanks to God for the life of Rev Sir Samson Lowa – and God’s great blessing of his faithful service alongside Uniting Church members in Australia, Papua New Guinea and the whole Pacific region,” said Dr Palmer.  

Rest in Peace Reverend Sir Samson Lowa:  15 August 1949 – 24 June 2020


More Uniting Church members pay tribute to a remarkable man and leader

Samson Lowa was a remarkable international church leader, particularly in the Pacific region. His quiet humility, his total integrity, his complete determination and, most of all, his passion for proclaiming the gospel in word and action were together an inspiration to his many friends, myself included   During the twelve years that I was privileged to work with him, as Chairperson of Uniting International Mission and as President of the Assembly, the blessings which he bestowed on us as a Church were enormous, in addition to all that he meant throughout the Pacific.

-Rev. Professor James Haire AC, Charles Sturt University, Canberra

It was Sam’s gentleness, humility and grace that was so marked. He did not seek out high office. He ministered and worked with integrity. He trusted others and had a way of rebuilding trust in the way he quietly and without fuss brought his intellect to bear to work patiently through matters that seemed impossible to solve. He was a living example of the fruit of the Spirit. It was a blessing to know him.

-Reverend Dr Dean Drayton, United Theological College

I looked up to the late Rev. Sir Samson Lowa as a spiritual mentor in my early youth formation years, and later as my congregational minister. I will always remember him as a humble servant who served everyone equally. He believed in forgiveness and reconciliation which was very much part of his life and ministry testimony. May he rest in eternal peace in the presence of His Saviour and Lord.

-Amos Leana, Nungalinya College

Rev. Samson Lowa was a very special person who reflected the love and peace of Christ and touched the hearts of those he met.  One of the greatest privileges and blessings in my life was to work closely with Samson for six years and to form a deep spiritual friendship that endured.

-Reverend Bill Fischer, Former Director of Uniting International Mission

Samson was indeed a very special man and I always had deep admiration for his faith, wisdom and gentle leadership. The don’t come any better than he did.

-Bruce Mullan, former Director of Church Connections, UnitingWorld

He was indeed a very special person, and gave the church wonderful leadership, as well as his peace-making work in the Bougainville conflict.

-Reverend Neville Threlfall

“One of the Pacific church fathers. He was a charismatic leader in the PCC (Pacific Conference of Churches) family, a man of great mana. The church will miss the humble Samson Lowa.

-Reverend Dr Matagi Vilitama, UCA Being a Multicultural Church Advocate

 

Frequent and proper hand hygiene is one of the most important measures to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks.

Our partners the United Church in Papua New Guinea (UCPNG) are working across 17 communities in Milne Bay province to run COVID-19 awareness sessions and installing handwashing stations with soap, instructional posters and steps so children can reach (see left of pic 1).

Supported by the Australian Government Disaster READY initiative, UCPNG and other PNG church partners will be helping support the immediate needs of almost 40,000 people.

The project also includes the training of community mobilisers/volunteers to drive community engagement activities, working in close coordination with local government authorities and community groups.

Thank you for your support!

Our partners will continue to serve their communities throughout this crisis and beyond.
Donate now to support their work: www.unitingworld.org.au/actnow

“It’s our choices that matter in the end. Not wishes, not words, not promises.”

How many choices do you think you might make each day? Researchers suggest it’s about 35,000 choices – 227 relating to food alone.

Little wonder so many of us have choice paralysis! So what guides our decisions? Some are impulsive, some are emotional, some come from rationally weighing up the facts. Too many are just unconscious, routine. We do things because it’s the way we’ve always done them. But as so many people have pointed out, it’s our daily choices that become habit, habit that becomes character and character that becomes our destiny. That means our choices are powerful – even the ones we might not think matter all that much.

We went to a small community in Papua New Guinea to film an interactive video that allows you to make choices revealing what life is like as a young person living with limited options in a developing country. If you haven’t already tried it out, you can find it here: https://unitingworld.org.au/choice

The video highlights that “35,000 choices a day” don’t include most of the world’s poor. In Papua New Guinea, the third most difficult place in the world to access clean water, most people have only one water source – and it’s often dirty enough to kill them. One person dies every minute around the world from complications relating to dirty water. Most of them are children. But faced with little awareness about clean water and sanitation, what real choices are there? Lack of options for handwashing and clean water force people to choose unsafe sources, a lifestyle that can kill.

Papua New Guinea is the third most difficult place in the world to access clean water

We’re training health workers who are changing all that, and your choice to get involved makes a huge difference. When you donate to our water and sanitation work, as many of you already have, you’re supporting communities to gain access to clean water and learn new habits that save lives. It’s such a simple act that makes such a huge difference.

Thank you to everyone who has already made the decision to get involved in this work. Your gifts, combined with funding from the Australian Government,* mean that our partners are excited about the ways we can expand the work to many more communities in Papua New Guinea, West Timor, Bali and Zimbabwe.

Together, through our determined daily choices to be people of generosity and compassion, we’re building a world where people can thrive no matter what their circumstances. Thank you!

*As a partner of the Australian Government, UnitingWorld receives flexible funding under the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) each year to implement development and poverty alleviation programs overseas.

Every donation you make to this project will be combined with funding from the Australian Government to reach more people. We have committed to contribute $1 for every $5 we receive from the Australian government. Your donation will allow us to extend our programs.

Pic: Local change agents teach a community about water, sanitation and hygiene in Papua New Guinea.

Notes from the National Director

When Australia was asked to choose a new federal government last month, my husband Chris and I found ourselves investing time and energy into helping our children think about the decision we were facing as a nation, even though they’re not yet old enough to vote.

We talked about what it means to be part of a democracy and the responsibility it places on us. We explored their hopes for the future, using the 2019 Vision Statement of the Uniting Church, which dreams of a nation with a heart for our First Peoples; a thriving and equitable economy for all; a loving and hospitable attitude toward all races, genders and sexualities; stewardship for all of God’s creation and commitment to our global neighbours. We also used the ABC’s Vote Compass to discuss our voting options.

Most of all, we wanted our children to value the privilege and power it is to have choice in a world where so many are voiceless and shackled by their gender, poverty or the corruption of their leaders. In my work each day, I’m encouraged by the many ways your love and determination are putting power back into the hands of men, women and children who are created, like you and I, with the capacity to achieve so much if given half the chance. Thank you for choosing to use this power for such great good!

Recently, the team and I at UnitingWorld have been reviewing our programs, working out our focus areas for strengthening our work in the next financial year and beyond. There is always more great work we could do than we have resources, but we’re always guided by our partners within our five priority areas of Poverty Alleviation, Gender Equality, Strong Leadership, Climate Change/Disaster Preparation and Emergency Response.

What we’re hearing from the women and men who lead this work, is that they want trained staff and robust organisations that can support themselves long-term. They don’t want handouts or short-term fixes, they want the lasting skills to create the changes they know they can bring about on their own. This allows them, too, to share in the power of choice, making choices about how and where they invest without the need to rely on external partners.

This means we’ll be investing more in our partners to transfer knowledge, training them in good governance and risk management. It may not sound exciting, but it’s what makes the difference long term! It means you can rely on their accounting skills, their child protection policies and their long-term impact. In short, when you choose us as your partner, you’re choosing an investment of skills and knowledge for lasting change. Thank you! I’ll be writing more about this in future editions of Update, so stay posted.

With gratitude for the power of choice,

Dr Sureka Goringe
National Director

Read the latest UnitingWorld Update here:

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The new interactive video highlights the difficult choices faced by people working to overcome poverty.

The video follows the story of 15-year-old Rani, who lives in a remote costal village in Papua New Guinea. With limited access to reliable water, she must make difficult choices every day that put her health, education and safety at risk.

The interactive video aims to highlight how the restriction of choices in the developing world can be fatal, and how we in Australia can use our own choices to make a difference. Watch it here.

Give the power of choice

You can help communities like Rani’s by giving a gift before June 30.

Thanks to our partnership with the Australian Government, your tax-deductible gift can go up to six times further in saving lives.

As a partner of the Australian Government, UnitingWorld can access funding for certain projects to help us reach more people. In order to receive Australian Aid funding, we are required to contribute $1 for every $5 we can access. That means your gift goes up to six times further!

UnitingWorld is aiming to raise $450,000 this financial year to support our community development projects in Papua New Guinea, West Timor, Bali and Zimbabwe. Help us fund our partners and life-changing projects.

Click here to donate now.

Are you part of a church/community group? Click here to access fundraising resources to help us reach our goal!

Kina Somare* is wanted throughout the Highlands of Papua New Guinea on numerous counts of violence. Leader of a well-known gang that frequently clashes with others in the region, his face is both known and feared. So when he walks into a peace workshop one still afternoon in October, amidst the rubble of Hela Province’s worst earthquake since 1922, everyone in the church stands very still. 

Somare walks out a changed man. He speaks with local police. He wants to become an ambassador for peace personally and to influence other young people to bring healing to the community. His transformation is staggering.

“The Bishop of the United Church in PNG (UCPNG), who was taking part that day, found Somare’s presence particularly unnerving,” says UCPNG Disaster Office Project Manager Stella Vika. 

“He’d been held up by this man at knife point not so long ago. They met, reconciled and Somare gave his life to Christ. Our partners up in Hela Province are really blown away by this story. To have someone of such notoriety undergo such a change is incredibly encouraging.

UCPNG leaders at the Mendi Counselling and Peacebuilding workshop

The United Church of Papua New Guinea, in partnership with UnitingWorld, has been running peace workshops and counselling for people impacted by the recent earthquake. Like other aid agencies, UnitingWorld was on hand with sanitation kits and practical items, but the long-term work of helping people recover emotionally and psychologically is incredibly important.

“Disasters frequently damage infrastructure and livelihoods but they can also increase vulnerability and conflict,” says David Brice, Disaster Relief Coordinator with UnitingWorld.

“Giving people access to counselling and the tools to navigate conflict has a significant impact on how quickly these communities can heal and recover.”

It’s one of the unique ways your donations go further with UnitingWorld. Your support doesn’t just address the practical problems of clean water and repaired roofing – it builds people’s resilience to tackle issues that accelerate after disaster. And men like Somare are changed in the process. Given the skills not just to rebuild their homes but their lives, they embrace the opportunity to bring change. 

HELP US BE DISASTER READY.

Every dollar donated before disaster strikes doesn’t just save countless lives – it saves significant amounts of money. Every $1 invested into building better homes, preparing evacuation plans and protecting communities can save as much as $15 in the aftermath of a tragedy. Please, if you’re able, add to our disaster-ready fund.

Click here to donate now.

*Name changed to protect identity

Gender Equality Theology changing hearts and minds in Papua New Guinea

Salote and Jone have been married 11 years, members of a Christian church, and have two beautiful children. They love one another, but throughout their marriage they’ve had times of conflict and Jone has become angry, abusive and resorted to violence. Each time he pleads for forgiveness, vows to change and for a time makes good on his promise. Each time, violence returns. Salote wants to believe that everyone, with the love of God, can change, but she fears for her life and for the welfare of her children. She asks the advice of her Pastor.

This is the scenario a group of men and women are grappling with in a frostily air-conditioned room in the offices of the United Church of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, on a typically hot February day. They’ve come from all over the country – the Highlands, New Britain, Goroka – and they represent different denominations, universities and groups united by a common desire to see an end to violence against women. This week, their unexpected secret weapon is better theology.

“Almost everyone in Papua New Guinea is a Christian, which completely underpins the culture,” explains University lecturer Theresa, who has come to be part of the Community of Practice meeting, seeking inspiration for her gender and social studies lectures.

“But most have only a shallow understanding of what the Bible really says about men and women. It’s enough for many men to believe their marriages are ordained by God, or that they are superior to women. In reality, there’s so much more to what the Scriptures say about the equality of men and women. Understanding this properly changes everything.”

Watching the group grapple with what advice a Pastor should give to the couple is an interesting experience.  Earlier, a Bible study by Rev Dr Seforosa Carroll has unpacked a passage from Matthew about turning the other cheek – a concept that for decades has been part of the powerful brew holding faithful women captive in abusive marriages. Rev Dr Carroll, however, explains that in the culture of Jesus’ day, rather than passively accepting or inviting further violence, ‘turning the other cheek’ could quite literally have created a radically different dynamic between two people and restored a sense of equality and dignity.

The interpretation opens new possibilities in the room and creates a buzz that spills over into discussion and controversy around the case study. For some, the issue hits close to the heart. Women here have left abusive marriages of their own and are raising children while helping other women find safety from violence. This is no idle hypothetical. What’s certain is that for everyone in the room, this teaching of Jesus – fully explained, beautifully illustrated  – has real authority and currency to change lives.

UnitingWorld is continuing to support the development of resources to teach Gender Equality Theology throughout the Pacific. If you’re interested in seeing a copy of the Bible studies or helping provide invaluable financial support for the project, please get in touch. We’d love you to join us on this exciting journey with our partners!

Gender Equality Theology Community of Practice activities are supported by the Australian Government through the Papua New Guinea–Australia Partnership.