Tribal Massacre in PNG

The news today from the Highlands of PNG is horrifying.

Media sources report more than 40 people killed in tribal violence in Enga Province.

You can see from the map below what a close neighbour PNG is to Australia (Enga Province is highlighted with red dots) …

Through ALWS, and the Australian Government, you are part of a broad program to lift the well-being of the people of PNG – so news of this massacre is deeply unsettling.

ALWS is in contact with our partner in PNG – the Evangelical Lutheran Church, to discover what impact there may be on the development activities you support.

The map below shows how important the Lutheran Church is to the people of Enga Province:

I feel a personal pain at this terrible news today, as I spent many of my growing-up years in PNG when my dad established a school there.

Our help is needed because families and communities in PNG, especially in remote rural areas, face many health, education, livelihoods and security challenges.

At the same time, adequate service delivery is lacking, and women, children and persons with disabilities are particularly at risk.

Your ALWS action in PNG is fully funded by the Australian Government, through the Church Partnership Program which coordinates the action of seven churches:

Anglican Church
Baptist Union
Evangelical Lutheran Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Salvation Army
Seventh-day Adventist Church
United Church.

ALWS has worked with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG, and the Australian Government, in PNG since 2004.

In 2022, our action together directly helped 2,848 people, including:

418 people trained on disability-inclusive development and establishing self-help groups
25 young people (18 male, 7 female) trained in peer counselling skills to help reduce violence in schools
34 young people join character-building workshops to develop leadership skills
71 coffee farmers equipped to use solar dryers to improve coffee production
63 farmers trained to produce pig feed from self-grown sweet potato tubers and leaves
136 people trained on disaster risk management

The total grant from the Australian Government for 2022, through ALWS, was $471,728.

The importance of Australia’s relationship with our neighbour PNG was evident last week when the Prime Minister of PNG, James Marape, addressed a joint sitting of the Australian Parliament – the first Pacific leader to do so.

I was privileged to attend this event on behalf of ALWS, and other members of the Church Partnership Program. What really struck me about Prime Minister Marape’s speech was the family analogy he shared:

As a “teenager“, Australia took responsibility for Papua in 1906, and New Guinea in 1920. The ‘umbilical cord’ was cut in 1975 with independence. PNG is the only country Australia has ‘birthed’. We are family. “You can choose your friends, but not your family.”

As we pray for peace to be restored to PNG at this time, may I share with you the concept of Gudpela Sindaun, that underlies the work we do together.

This simply means ‘a life in balance’.

A balance between the rights of those who have been before … those who are here now … and those yet to come.

Thank you for all you do to help so many people, in so many places, through ALWS. Your kindness is a special blessing for people who may otherwise feel forgotten.