This International Volunteers Day, Australia is celebrating all the volunteers and local organisations in Papua New Guinea (PNG) who are working together to create change and further strengthen the bonds between the two countries.
One of the many organisations being supported through the Australian Volunteers Program is the Waniati Maternal Waiting Home, which is providing quality health services through innovative approaches to maternal and child healthcare.
Cindy Francis is one of the Australian volunteers supporting the work of Waniati Maternal Waiting Home as a Liaison Officer. When reflecting on why she is volunteering in PNG, Cindy said that making a change was the motivating factor.
“I want to create change through partnering with an amazing locally led organisation, the Waniati Maternal Waiting home, to help them build stronger, sustainable relationships across Papua New Guinea and beyond.”
Waniati’s Victor Timothy, Executive Director and Founder, and his wife Bolena Azimo, Maternal and Child Health Director, are two locals from Eastern Highlands Province in PNG who started volunteering their time, funds and resources five years ago to care for disadvantaged women.
Sister Bolena Azimo said, “I am deeply passionate about helping underprivileged mothers and babies to improve their lives, so together we can build a better nation.”
Victor Timothy is equally as committed, saying, he wants to reduce infant mortality, to create a safer environment for the mothers of PNG, and to ensure no woman is left behind.
Ben Francis, who is also volunteering at Waniati Maternal Waiting Home, as an Organisational Management Mentor, said that he hoped his effort would help to guide the organisation into the future.
“I’m volunteering to create change by working with the Waniati executive team to strengthen their operational and leadership capacity so they can continue to deliver for the underprivileged mothers and babies of PNG well into the future,” he said.
There are currently 16 Australian volunteers in PNG, in Lae, Buka, Goroka and Port Moresby. The Australian Volunteers Program is an Australian Government-funded initiative that supports partner organisations in PNG and across the Pacific, Asia and Africa to achieve locally led development.
