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Volunteering in Papua New Guinea

Last activity 21 October 2015 by adamsmole

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Maximilien

Hi,

While living abroad, some expats wish to get involved in the local community life.

What organizations expats can turn to if they want to volunteer in Papua New Guinea?

How to join a charitable institution, what are the steps?

Which causes have the greatest need for volunteers in Papua New Guinea?

Thank you in advance for sharing your experience and advice,

Maximilien

Stevehigh

City Mission is 22 year-old Christian NGO with locations in Port Moresby and Lae.  City Mission operates New Life Skills Training Centres in Port Moresby on a 45 acre farm and in Lae on a fruit plantation.  NLSTC takes young men off the street and out of settlements and villages and brings them into a 14-month residential program of basic life skills, spiritual development, education and vocational training. Currently our combined capacity is about 320.

Since 2003 we have operated Haus Ruth, the first and one of the few long-term shelters for battered women (it is estimated that 60-70 % of women and girls in PNG have or will suffer domestic violence or sexual abuse).  We offer counseling, social services support, medical care and help with police reports and court hearings.  HR serves over 300  women and their children per year,

In 2015 we opened what will be the first certified children's crisis center in the nation in cooperation with The Government Department of the LPA (children's protection Act), the National Capital District Commission, Youth Empowerment Program and other departments and NGOs.

We also do Christian outreach to settlements and villages,

City Mission has a long history of ministering to the most desperate and at-risk people in PNG.  Anyone interested in volunteering can contact me through a private message.  We can always use help with education, medical education and services. vocational training, labor, administration, marketing and about anything else..

PNG Adventures

VSO are based in Madang, PNG.
They are one of the larger International volunteering organizations who offer voluntary roles to skilled people in Education and Health roles.

Take a look at their website & videos and see what you think.

vsointernational.org/fighting-poverty/where-we-work/papua-new-guinea

If you already have a working visa and are in Papua New Guinea, this can make the process a bit faster and easier.
Some roles are in urban areas and others are in far more rural areas, depending on which local partner you will be working alongside.

Hope this is useful.

pete.moody

Links of Hope

"In 2015 Links of Hope are partnering with Salvation Army at House of Hope on Ela Beach and with the HIV Paediatric Clinic at Port Moresby General Hospital. We now have 108 children on our Child Sponsorship Program who are supported with monthly care packages, school fees and access to our preschool literacy program. All our children are living in some way affected by HIV. Our remit and passion is to pastorally care for them and see them thrive in their communities by supporting with education, basic health care, training in trade skills and small business enterprise for their carers, offering carers small business loans and running community education initiatives. In some cases we will support our children in Foster care arrangements and respite care where they are at risk in their community living situation or in need of support while receiving specialist medical care."

Find out more about this organization on their website: http://linksofhopepng.com/
Regards

tin nwe tun

Volunteer in PNG ?? Here , i would like to share my story.. I arrived PNG Feb this year when my husband moved his job to Port Moresby. I specialized on Travel and Tourism Management but i couldn't work due to my dependent visa. After spending many days in home, i felt so bored and I looked for some volunteer jobs. In August, one of well known magazine called some volunteer for their Run Way. So I mailed and joined to work for few days for their show.
    I worked together with the other volunteers and I hoped to meet some potential friends for me. I didn't have many friends here. I tried to enter their conversation to make friends but some didn't show me interesting. I kept talking with others and some are really good girls and we had great conversations. Indeed, i was so happy to spend time with them. On the last day of event, there were everything was about to ready for the show, a sister of the owner of magazine was having conversation with me while we putting coconut leave for decorations on stages. I asked '' Are you married? , she replied ''Yes'' and then I said  '' Do you have children? '' she said ''Yes' , i have two son'' ..I said ''Thats great '' i am married but no children yet'' and she said i lived in Australia and he is Australian ..'' I replied her that'' Thats great,  '' and then she said ''they are very smart boys''  ,, I replied that '' Really,,how nice, lucky you, i heard that mix blood people are very intelligent '''   She didn't reply me anything ..and we had break time for lunch .. I wanted to continue the work because i wasn't hungry so i kept doing decoration of coconut leaves on stages''  After 10 minutes, her sister, owner of that magazine came and shout at me with angry face'' We don't want you anymore here' , you are a racist''.. I didn't know whats going on and what she is talking about.. '''  So i asked her '' What did i do wrong and why you are so upset? '' She said ''You said to my sister that we are stupid '' ,, I shocked for their accuse and lies'' so I said her''I swear that i didn't say anything bad about PNG or people  '' Since the day i volunteer here, i been doing things together with other girls and i pat for my lunch, i offer my time and i pay for my transportation , i did thing for you and now you just accused me like this ', and I continued '' I lived in Africa, middle east and other countries for 6 years and I never heard that accuse from any of my friends in those countries, they welcomed me always and they treated me friendly with respect'' But she didn't accept my explain and so i said if  something cause your sister upset , this is totally misunderstanding and why she don't come and tell me directly ? So i could explain her and i could say sorry if somethings upset her even i didn't mean to ''  But that owner say '' I accept your apology but we don't need you anymore for the show tonight '' ..
      I spent my time and money for them because i am the one who to do volunteer so i don't feel anything about it but i feel so sad because i couldn't see the show i worked for. They just kicked me out when the show is 99% ready. I feel that my job is not completely done yet... but there were some girls felt really sorry and comforted me when i was so sad.. They gave me their number to contact and we've been friends since... The girls  said they understand me but they can't do anything because it was caused by the sister of the owner of the show. She would listen to her sister and not them.
      On the other hand, I achieve some good friends and i could hand out for cafe'. I been treated badly by these couple of people but I see them as an exception. I see many good people in PNG. 70 percents of my friends are from Oman, Italy, Egypt., Colombia, Greece, Sudan, Nigeria, Thailand, Philippines , South Africans and now PNG. I met all these people in countries i lived before. I never been accused or talked to me badly like this regards on race or skin or religion. Because i see everyone as human. Since i studied geology and anthropology , there is no others race , only human kind.
       Later, after a week , i assumed that that two sisters live in Australia and they have some racists issues with some Australians. They are very sensitive with any kind of words ..They have bad experiences  and judged me based on their bad feelings. Probably, she doesn't see me as human , she see me as an Asian who come to work in PNG and take their jobs. ( i could say that regards on her posts on social media) she posted that ''How comes Foreign companies get high salary and complain to pay good salaries  to locals '' etc..
       I understand completely that local are suffering due to high living prices in port moresby, I give Marian 10 kina per hour to clean my flat , every month, i give her tips and some rices. She is very happy to work for me . Sometime she brings her little girl (6 month old) and i baby sit her while Marian is cleaning. Marian's husband don't have job since March so they have very tough life. I understand their hard lives because i am hearing it everyday. I am from a girl from Myanmar with yellow skin, so some of locals in shopping malls, think i am Chinese. Since some Chinese owners treated badly to PNG people, some hate Chinese. They don't know Myanmar or Cambodian or Malaysian ,they know only Chinese or Philippines. So sometime sales girls say be badly when i do shopping . I could understand them because these sales girls never been outside PNG so there is no compliant for not knowing Myanmar or me. I try to show my friendship and explain them time by time to convince them that i am different.. After all these months, they are friends to me now.
          I don't give up for being friend with locals in any country because I am spending everyday preciously in my life. No complaint, no carry bad experiences . When i left Sudan in December, my Sudanese friends and parents of disable children cried and thanked me with their heart. They love me because i love them. 
          Life is not easy if you think it is difficult but there is always an option...I choose it correctly ..Currently i don't have full time job and mostly i am at home but i did some charity things in these 7 months and i am very happy for that.. PNG is very beautiful and I travel and write about local festivals, culture and their beautiful places to share my friends.. I would love to promote PNG tourism to the world. I just want to feel that i am useful for the society ,everywhere i live.

NISSARADOOR

Hai, I am a medical person, currently in Pom I am intrstd to participate you can contct me*

Moderated by kenjee 9 years ago
Reason : Sharing of phone numbers not allowed on forum
adamsmole

Hi pete.moody:

Good day.

Do you operate here in East New Britain?  I will be having my holidays earlier next year and I want to participate voluntary activities.


Regards,


Richard