Pacific Peoples' Partnership

Connecting Indigenous and Pacific Peoples

Executive Message: March 2021

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Singing the Women Honour Song at Longhouse Dialogues June 2019 by L Mennigke

Happy International Women’s Day!

Pacific Peoples’ Partnership is blessed to work with so many amazing women!  We are inspired daily by all that they do for our collective wellbeing, for their families, friends, and communities.  In this edition of Pasifik Currents, we are delighted to introduce a few of these powerful trailblazers and changemakers and showcase their inspirational work and accomplishments.

Join us in celebrating Ofa from Tonga who is delivering remote counseling clinics, and our Pacific Resilience fund advisory council members including Méré (Vanuatu), Jennifer (Papua New Guinea), Kianna (Marshall Islands), Theresa (Samoa), and Maureen (Fiji) and get the latest news on the projects they are championing from supporting women businesses through to food security, health and safety, and promoting life skills-based upon traditional knowledge and practices.  

PPP is also pleased to announce that we are co-hosting a global virtual summit on reducing gender-based violence, healing, and empowerment, alongside CIRCLE and SAGE (University of Victoria) on March 25th, 2021 14:00-18:00 PDT/ March 26th, 2021 10:00 – 14:00 Tonga.  This will be presented in collaboration with Tonga-based Women and Children Crisis Center, with special presentations from Moose Hide Campaign, breakout groups, and more.  Participation in this summit is by invitation or application only.  We are grateful to the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives for supporting this program.  Email Agnieszka at agnieszka@archive.pacificpeoplespartnership.org for more information.

We are also thrilled to provide a teaser regarding the Stories of Resilience Indigenous and South Pacific youth program.  Plus updates on our work and activities. Our board, staff, and key volunteers will be engaging in strategic planning processes that will guide our work through to 2030 in alignment with the Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Finally, please consider donating to our work today.   As a non-profit charity, we are reliant on supporters like you to help us fulfill our mandate for a more just, peaceful, and sustainable Pacific. You can donate online securely HERE or through a no-fee direct e-transfer that auto deposits into our operating account by email director@archive.pacificpeoplespartnership.org 

Thank you for all your support, and join us in celebrating these amazing women and youth!

Muavae and April

Celebrating Women Across the South Pacific

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Prepared by Agnieszka Zuchora, Partnership and Development Coordinator

To celebrate International Women’s Day (March 8), Pacific Peoples’ Partnership is highlighting some of the amazing work being done by our partners across the South Pacific. We are truly excited to be partnering with ʻOfa Guttenbeil-Likiliki and the Women and Children Crisis Centre (WCCC) in Tonga for a Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) grant.

‘Ofa is a talented journalist, filmmaker, researcher, and advocate for women’s rights. She is the founder and director of the Tonga Women and Children Crisis Centre (WCCC). Her incredible work can be found in the film Vai, which she co-wrote and co-directed, as well as the brilliantly researched article Creating Equitable South-North Partnerships: Nurturing the VĀ and Voyaging the Audacious Ocean Together.

Ofa Guttenbeil-Likiliki

Currently, ‘Ofa and her team at WCCC are delivering remote counselling support to the outer islands of Tonga. 

The overall aim of the saturated focus on Tonga’s outer islands and most remote islands is to empower women and children by informing them of how women and young children who are victims and survivors of violence can access free, safe, non-judgmental, and confidential support services. “We use our Tongan method of ‘talanoa’ (talk informally) with our very own Tongan process, ‘fofola e fala kae talanoa e kainga’; it’s the traditional way of holding conversations, where the mat is rolled out giving permission to those in attendance to discuss and talk openly about the topic at hand,” explained Senior Counsellor Malia Foketi Tu’itupou. (‘Ofa, 2020).

To date WCCC has delivered:

  • Two mobile counselling clinics to ‘Eua. 
  • Seventeen mobile counselling talanoa clinics to the Ha’apai group covering: Uiha, Kotu, Lofanga, Mo’unga’one, Ha’ano, Muitoa, Fakakai, Pukotala, five communities in Foa, and four communities in Lifuka. 
  • Short awareness programs for all community members, including children, youth, and community leaders.
Stay Safe Campaign held simultaneously with MCTC

The women of the Pacific Resilience Fund and the Pacific Islander Advisory Committee 

At PPP we believe in equal opportunity. We have been told countless times that women want a seat at the table, and they want their voices heard, so we listened. As we develop our Pacific Resilience Fund (PRF) and transform it into an Indigenous-led fund, as defined by the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (2020), we have put together a Pacific Islander Advisory Committee (PIAC) consisting of five inspiring and passionate women doing incredible work across the South Pacific.

Meet our PIAC:

Dr. Méré MoTari MuraMura Sovick is an Indigenous scholar and practitioner from the Republic of Vanuatu, educated in New Zealand, and later in the USA, where she currently resides. She is the founder and executive director of the Melanesian Women Today (MWT) organization. She grew up in the village of Lavatu on the northern island of Pentecost, traditionally referred to as Araga, and is from the Bule tribe. She embraces her roots and culture, and credits her late grandparents, parents, and elders for teaching her the language, kastom, and knowledge of her people; this motivated her to apply the Indigenous knowledge in her research studies and work, and gave her the framework to do so. Without the support of her family and community, she believes her success would have been in vain.

Dr. Sovick sees herself as an agent of social change and a lifelong learner. As an agent of social change, one has to be willing to be a lifelong learner, which means putting an emphasis on “we” and “us”, and less on “I” and “me” – “I am what I am because of who we all are”.

Jennifer Baing-Waiko is a vibrant researcher, media specialist, TV presenter, and advocate of cultural preservation and equal rights and opportunities. Originally from the Morobe province in Papua New Guinea, she has a truly diverse knowledge set and experience working in marine conservation, seafloor mapping, agriculture, and traditional knowledge sharing. In 2007, she started Save PNG to protect the local culture, traditions, and the environment. Her work has included Cafe New Guinea, Cafe Melanesia, and the Healthy Pacific Campaign.

Kianna Juda Angelo was born in the Republic of the Marshall Islands but was adopted and raised in America since her earliest childhood. In the last decade, Kianna has reconnected with her Marshallese heritage. Continuing her passion for serving communities, Kianna founded the international non-profit organization Living Islands in 2013 and co-founded the social justice organization Compact of Free Association (COFA)  Alliance National Network (CANN) in 2014. She continues to serve as Executive Director for Living Islands and as Board Member for CANN. Kianna is a strong believer in international community work and a fierce supporter of the United Nations and is a member of the United Nations Association. She is always working on connecting governments, organizational partners, commercial interests, Native Americans, and Indigenous communities across the globe.

PIAC Members also include Leaula Theresa Asiata, SSWEFT Chief Executive Officer (Samoa) and  Maureen Penjueli, Coordinator, Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) in Fiji.

Our reasoning for an all-female identifying committee is drawn from the many conversations we have had, all of which point to the same conclusion: “Women are deeply involved in all aspects of their communities and can see where support is most needed and what forms are most effective” (anonymous, 2020). 

There can be a misconception that women only focus on women-related issues; however, it continues to be true that supporting women supports everyone. This does not mean a project has to be wholly dedicated to women or gender equity, rather that it is mindful of its impact on women, working with a holistic approach. This is exactly what we have seen through the first phase of Pacific Resilience Fund grants guided by our Pacific Islander Advisory Committee. 

Current projects across the South Pacific:

Research on women-led businesses

Melanesian Women Today (MWT) is undergoing a research study to understand what makes Indigenous female small business owners succeed in business for more than five years. The project is overseen by the MWT director and will replicate a peer-reviewed research study (Dr. Mere Sovick, 2017). 

This qualitative multiple-case study explores strategies Indigenous female small business owners use to succeed in business beyond five years.  This research will support MWT in gaining an understanding of what strategies women entrepreneurs use to overcome constraints or problems, and will allow MWT to create programs that will help female business owners in the future.

Historical preservation in the Marshall Islands: A collaborative project between Living Islands Non-Profit and Lihn Mwoakilloa Inc.

Like so many other small atolls in the Pacific Region, Mwoakilloa Atoll (formerly Mokil Atoll) in the Federated States of Micronesia faces depopulation and food insecurities. 

Lihn Mwoakilloa Inc. is a women-led organization addressing these issues, promoting sustainable life skills with reliance on traditional knowledge and practices. They promote historical preservation by empowering the present generation with the sustained use of traditional knowledge and practices at the community level through dance, music, arts and crafts, gardening, and cooking. 

Self-reliance is predicated on producing sufficient local food resilience and minimizing the dependency on imported goods. An essential household staple in Mwoakilloa (and the Pacific Region in general) is flour. Lihn Mwoakilloa Inc. is starting a program to educate the next generation and re-introduce local flour production from local produce.

Strongim Meri Morobe: Strengthening the Women of Morobe

Save PNG is reaching out to rural and remote communities in Morobe Province to conduct awareness on food and nutrition security and women’s health and wellbeing, as well as to organize women into associations to market their arts and crafts, utilizing natural fibers harvested and propagated from their local environments.

Save PNG is completing a cultural centre with demonstrated traditional food system gardens integrated with permaculture and agro-ecological principles. They are also running small trainings with women to help them to form associations to market their local arts and crafts and to create marketable natural fibre products.

The aim of these projects is to ensure that communities are food and nutrition secure. and that they are planting a wide variety of traditional and Indigenous food plants to ensure that their diets are diverse and nutritious. This is also providing a pathway for women to expose their talents in arts and crafts to be able to make an added income to supplement their farming activities. The natural fibres and dyes used to create their Bilum (traditional arts and crafts) will also be propagated in the community to ensure that these materials are produced sustainably. 

Promoting health and safety in Samoa

The Samoa Social Welfare Fesoasoani Trust (SSWEFT) is working directly with the chiefs of two communities to raise awareness and provide hygienic assistance to vulnerable members of the community during the pandemic. In this joint venture with the PPP, SSWEFT has been able to visit selected families needing assistance as they are adults that are looked after by either a family member with a disability or a mother tending to the needs of an adult child. SSWEFT aims to offer support to these families as they often do not want to be a burden on their communities; with this initiative they are able to receive invaluable support they may not have otherwise felt comfortable asking for. 

Pacific Pulse: Pacific Women Stories 2021

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A Compilation of Pacific Women Stories 2021

Prepared by Andy Nystrom, PPP Archivist and Research Assistance

From Tok Blong:

https://archive.pacificpeoplespartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/19-Tok-Blong-SPPF-19-April-1987-m.pdf

Development in the Pacific: What Women Say

Tok Blong #19 Apr 1987 pages 10-11

https://archive.pacificpeoplespartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/54-3-Tok-Blong-Pasifik-v54-3-2000.pdf

Twenty Five Years of Activism: Pacific women carry the fire stick

Tok Blong v54 #3 25th anniversary 2000 pages 7-9

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2018/03/05/inspiring-women-in-the-pacific-resmah-story

Inspiring women in the Pacific: Resmah’s story

The World Bank March 5, 2018

Kalotiti is the first female surfboard shaper in the Pacific, and she provides surfing lessons to children in her village. 

https://theculturetrip.com/pacific/australia/articles/11-inspiring-australian-women-who-changed-history/

11 Inspiring Australian Women Who Changed History

Over the past century, women have played a key role in shaping Australia and the world as we know it today. Fighting on the front lines for social justice, women’s rights, education and health care as well as proving themselves as vital game changers in the world of sports and science, here are 11 inspiring Australian women who changed history.

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/03/05/international-women-day-2020

IWD2020: Meet The Women Who Are Breaking Barriers Across the Pacific

For International Women’s Day 2020, we’re getting to know the pioneering women across the Pacific and Papua New Guinea who are breaking barriers and creating change for the decade ahead. From international sailors and inspiring poets, to diplomats and CEOs fighting for a more equal world, we are sharing the motivations, aspirations and experiences that shaped these women into tomorrow’s Pacific leaders.

https://www.spc.int/updates/blog/2020/10/pacific-women-in-health-care-campaign

Pacific women in health care campaign

Pacific Community 21 October 2020

This month the Pacific Community (SPC) will highlight the invaluable contribution of Pacific women in health care. Globally, women make up 80% of the health workforce and in the Pacific 75% of women represent the nursing workforce. This year has been challenging for everyone working in health care as COVID-19 took precedence and placed a burden on health facilities globally. 

https://www.thecoconet.tv/coco-talanoa/blog/pacific-female-film-stories/

Pacific Female Film Stories

The Coconet circa 2019

2019 is the year of the Brown Female Story in Aotearoa!  So many great stories from the sistas of the Moana Nui A Kiwa are exploding on the big screen this year with an unprecedented number of films made by and about Polynesian women.

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/asia-pacific/asia-and-the-pacific-women-in-conservation/women-guardians-of-the-mangroves/

Women Guardians of the Mangroves

The Nature Conservancy June 01, 2020

Women in Papua New Guinea are coming together to care for each other, their families and lead change for their environment.

https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=24501

Telling Her Story: 30 Books for Adult Readers About Women Heroes of WWII

A Mighty Girl May 8, 2020

To give [World War II] heroic women the recognition they deserve, we’re sharing books for adult readers that bring these untold stories of women’s courage and patriotism to light! We’ve selected well-researched and absorbingly written biographies, which show that truth is sometimes just as exciting as fiction, as well as some of our favorite historical fiction novels that incorporate characters inspired by these daring women. Thrilling and inspiring, these books will bring an important new dimension to your understanding of World War II and the critical and myriad roles that women played in it.

https://www.sbs.com.au/movies/article/2019/05/31/vai-pacific-womanhood-eight-parts

‘Vai’: Pacific Womanhood In Eight Parts

SBS 28 MAY 2020 – 3:39 PM  UPDATED 18 FEB 2021 – 4:23 PM

Eight women directors from eight Pacific Island cultures contribute to this visually sunny yet poetically sorrowful portmanteau feature.

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/meet-5-pacific-women-activists-changing-the-world/

Meet 5 Pacific Women Activists Who Are Changing the World in 2020

Global Citizen Nov. 26, 2020

For women and girls in the Pacific, it’s closer to 3 in 4, or more than double — a statistic that can generally be attributed to the region’s strict gender power dynamics, unique social taboos, inadequate education systems, and limited female political and economic representation.

https://women.govt.nz/news/covid-19-and-women/covid-19-think-pieces/pacific-women-we-are-makers-our-homes-and-communities

As Pacific women, we are the makers of our homes, and communities

Manatū Wāhine Ministry for Women 01 Jul 2020

As a Pacific woman I [Shahana Kimiangatau, owner of Shahana Jewels] have heard countless stories of women who have been able to turn their lives around using a skill they learned as a child, or nurtured as a Pacific woman returning to her roots. I believe that it is this philosophy that will empower women to not only receive help post COVID-19, but help themselves – and others.

https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/stories/women-promote-healthy-lifestyle-and-fight-climate-change-marshall-islands_en

Women promote healthy lifestyle and fight climate change in the Marshall Islands

European Commission Published on 26 May 2020

As people around the world learn to live with the COVID-19 crisis, women in a small atoll island in the Marshall Islands, are reaping the benefits of a three-year long, European Union (EU) funded project that was started in 2017 to help build their resilience to climate related droughts

http://www.developmentresearch.eu/?p=846

Behind the Scenes: The Strong Voice of Pacific Women in Climate Negotiations

EADI Blog 16/12/2020

Women from Pacific Island countries have long been strategic and decisive leaders in climate negotiations, yet their stories are relatively unknown.  Our recent work explores women’s leadership at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the making of the Paris Agreement 2015. We provide a snapshot of one year in  three decades of climate negotiations and explore, how women played strategic roles to elevate the Pacific’s position on a global stage.

This site has some good Pacific Women stories in reverse chronological order. https://pacificwomen.org/stories-of-change/ Some of the more recent ones:

https://pacificwomen.org/stories-of-change/from-the-ground-up-womens-groups-create-new-crisis-services/

From the ground up: Women’s groups create new crisis services

Pacific Women November 25, 2020

Dedicated women’s groups in small island states are leading the creation of safe spaces and the provision of quality services for women and children experiencing violence.

https://pacificwomen.org/stories-of-change/involving-family-to-ensure-wee/

Involving the whole family to ensure women’s economic empowerment

Pacific Women November 10, 2020

Two agricultural projects in Papua New Guinea are taking a family-based approach to improve gender equality. The projects are demonstrating how working with women and men farmers in their family units can improve economic outcomes and bring a better balance to decision making in homes.

https://pacificwomen.org/stories-of-change/small-grants-can-lead-to-big-opportunities/

Small grants can lead to big opportunities

Pacific Women October 15, 2020

Since 2017, the Fiji Women’s Fund has been rolling out a new model of granting and capacity support for women’s organisations, groups and networks in Fiji.

https://pacificwomen.org/stories-of-change/a-pacific-girl-program-by-pacific-girls/

A Pacific Girl program by Pacific girls

Pacific Women October 7, 2020

Pacific Girl is Pacific Women’s dedicated, multi-country program to support adolescent girls to reach their full potential. It addresses priority issues identified through consultations with more than 200 adolescent girls, including sexual and reproductive rights, access to education, cyber safety, climate change and freedom from violence.

https://pacificwomen.org/stories-of-change/community-overcomes-birthing-taboos-in-remote-district/

Community overcomes birthing taboos in remote district

Pacific Women August 18, 2020

Strict taboos were once forcing women in the remote Lufa District of Papua New Guinea to give birth in their outdoor gardens rather than the nearby health facility. This has changed, with women now birthing in the safe conditions of the local health facility, thanks to community-led action through CARE’s Mamayo project.

https://pacificwomen.org/stories-of-change/a-platform-for-sustaining-feminist-fierceness/

A platform for sustaining feminist fierceness

Pacific Women July 30, 2020

The reasons why the second Pacific Feminist Forum was important are as varied as the 150 participants who attended.

https://pacificwomen.org/stories-of-change/women-and-young-people-influence-government-policy/

Women and young people influence government policy

Pacific Women July 23, 2020

More than 70 women and young people gathered in Tuvalu’s capital of Funafuti for the Tuvalu National Women and Youth Forum. It was the first forum of its kind, bringing together women and young people from all of Tuvalu’s islands in a pioneering collaboration between government and civil society.

https://pacificwomen.org/stories-of-change/women-are-key-to-an-effective-covid-19-pacific-response/

Women are key to an effective COVID-19 Pacific response

Pacific Women May 22, 2020

The impacts of COVID-19 are not gender-neutral. Women and girls face even higher rates of violence and sexual abuse, undertake more unpaid domestic work, access fewer essential health services, and are more vulnerable to economic hardship.

Pacific Peoples’ Partnership Continues to #GoForTheGoals

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International Development Week (IDW) provides the Canadian community an opportunity to engage with global issues and acknowledge the contributions Canadian organizations make in poverty reduction and international development work. Pacific Peoples’ Partnership is proud to continue to support the aspirations of Indigenous and South Pacific Peoples’ and to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We firmly believe that our work in elevating and empowering Indigenous voices and traditions, building resiliency at the community-level, and advocating for human rights is fundamentally linked with the global goals and we are honoured to build on this work. 

2020 brought about unprecedented challenges that pushed all of us to slow down and to think creatively. Even high-income countries such as Canada experienced considerable impacts as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic which ranged from nationwide economic recessions to individual mental health challenges. The pandemic has also exacerbated many problems in Indigenous communities in Canada, as remote nations especially struggle to provide their people with employment while safeguarding their health. We continue to work and support these communities, particularly when it comes to advocating for their right t0 self-determined development and territorial rights.

Alongside the impacts of the current pandemic, our partners, friends, brothers, and sisters in the South Pacific continue to face the challenges of climate change with South Pacific countries bearing the brunt of global warming’s associated impacts such as the devastating cyclone ‘Yasa’ which landed in Fiji, Vanuatu and Tonga just a few short months ago leaving many without homes and millions of dollars in damage across the island. For many of these countries, the notion of ‘building back better’ is daunting, and achieving the SDGs has proven to be exceedingly difficult. Many of these communities have the capacity to adapt to climate change using their own knowledge and capacities but have been systematically prevented from doing so. Our Pacific Resilience Fund is transforming into an Indigenous-led fund with the intention of moving away from a charity-based model and toward providing communities with decision making power to utilize funds in ways that they see best. The PRF is intended to build resilience in Pacific Island communities as they define it, while ultimately supporting the livelihoods and adaptation measures of Pacific communities facing the dual challenges of climate change and covid-19, which in turn will catalyze empowerment, self-determination, and fit-for-purpose projects. The fund is currently working with communities in Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia. You can learn more about the PRF and donate here.

We also continue to work in partnership with local Indigenous communities by providing innovative programming, leadership opportunities, and exhibitions of the arts and cultural work. Our annual OneWave Gathering was held this year in partnership with Songhees and Esquimalt Nations and despite the challenges presented by the Pandemic, PPP was able to deliver some truly inspiring and empowering programs. We were also successful in attaining government funding for a novel program titled ‘Stories of Resilience’ which is ongoing. Stories of Resilience is providing 8 Indigenous and South Pacific youth the opportunity to create and curate a series of multimedia pieces that will explore the lived realities of Indigenous communities. We are tremendously excited to see what they will create – so stay tuned here.

As part of our strategy to #GoForTheGoals we will be holding two virtual summits, one in early March that will focus on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and our related programming, as well as another with the date TBA on West Papua and the ongoing human rights violations in the region.

While we are not holding any events during IDW, our longtime partners and friends at the Victoria International Development Education Association (VIDEA) and the British Columbia Council for International Cooperation (BCCIC) are both hosting a range of virtual events. Please take a look at their great offerings in the next few weeks.

Impacts of COVID-19 on Women in the Pacific: Why gender inclusion is key to recovery

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By Agnieszka Zuchora, PPP Development and Partnerships Coordinator

As the world adjusts to the new normal of isolating, social distancing, and virus awareness to keep people safe, underlying issues of inequality have been brought to the surface. Gender disparity has been made glaringly evident during the current COVID-19 landscape as measures put in place to protect communities have disproportionately affected women during this time, especially in the South Pacific. Women and girls are at a higher risk of violence, they provide more unpaid labor, and are more likely to experience economic hardship.

Market vendors at the Wewak Market. Observing the new pandemic normal is a challenge by market management. Credit: HELP-Resource PNG

Typically, women are highly depended upon for their contributions to society and their families. Generally, they provide 80 per cent of unpaid work in the Asia Pacific region. This includes cooking, cleaning, washing, childcare, supporting children with homework, and tending to the sick. With COVID lockdowns, pressure on women has increased exponentially given that everyone is home: it is just expected that women will carry on with their daily tasks and do whatever is necessary to fill in the gaps during this time – both financially and domestically.

As tensions rise amidst stress, uncertainty, food security, and enforced restrictions, there has been a significant increase in calls related to gender-based violence across the Pacific. Women who were living with violent partners were forced into isolation with these partners, thereby putting them at greater risk of increased violence caused by stress and constant contact. Crisis centres have noted a rise in calls from existing clients as well as an increase in new clients who have said there is a correlation between the lockdown and increased violence.

Women’s and Children’s Crisis Centre in Tonga

PPP is proud to have partnered with Women’s and Children’s Crisis Centre (WCCC), in Tonga, which is offering mobile counselling for women to receive in-person support within their area. WCCC was founded in 2009 by the incredible ʻOfa Guttenbeil-Likiliki with the intention of advocating for women, human rights, and eliminating domestic violence through education, counselling, safe houses, and political advocacy. WCCC is the leading women’s human rights organisation in Tonga, providing response, support, and prevention initiatives.

Information session on Informal Economy with vendors at Kreer market is offered by a HELP Resources Community Advocator. Credit: HELP-Resource PNG

The most recent project addresses the need for support in remote island communities. It fills the gap by sending counsellors to the communities, making the extremely valuable centre services mobile and increasing their reach. This comes at an especially significant time given the constant need to adapt around the global pandemic.

Not only are women facing disproportionate workloads, and an increase in domestic violence, they are doing it without the proper resources to maintain their own health. Women have seen a decrease in access to essential products and services such as feminine hygiene products. Seeing as the Pacific imports feminine hygiene products, there has been a disruption in supply resulting in decreased access as well as a spike in prices making them unavailable to some. Some women and girls are “resorting to socks and old newspapers when getting their periods as menstrual products become more expensive or harder to obtain.”(1)  Along with inaccessible sanitation products, “Dr Gupte said underprivileged families were struggling to use common sanitation facilities, where physical distancing and hygienic conditions cannot be assured.” (1)

Some organisations are teaching sewing skills to encourage the making of reusable menstrual products to support women in their health, and also in developing a business through a sustainable product they can sell in the markets; however, local markets have been significantly reduced during the pandemic.

Local Government officials attend a Safe Market Management Practices Workshop. Credit: HELP-Resource PNG

HELP Resources (HELP-R) Supports PNG Women

In Papua New Guinea, our partner HELP Resources (HELP-R) has been supporting women through their Vendors Collective Voices project. After months of restrictions causing market closures and preventing travel, PNG has eased restrictions by allowing travel and reopening markets. In an update, project lead Penial Kabilo said, “Women from Kaminambit and Keram are bringing in their bilums (local string bags made from traditional fibre) to sell at the market, fish traders from the Sepik River have resumed their trading by travelling down to Wewak or further inland to Maprik and Yangoru to trade.”

HELP Resources has supported Water PNG in putting up sanitation stations with washing basins and handwashing gels and sanitizers donated by UN Women, allowing for safe trading. Although trading had considerably slowed during lockdown months, Penial Kabilo has noted a steady increase with consistent buyers. He stated that even “roadside markets along the town fringes and along the highways have all reopened now, however, street vending within the town vicinity is still banned by the Town Authority to promote social distancing. Generally, market trading activities have increased, this indicates a better understanding of COVID-19 and the vender’s resilience to trade.”

The work done by HELP Resources has proven effective and supportive during COVID-19 as information sessions by Community Advocators trained through the Vendors Voice Shaping Informal Economy Development project continued to run. Penial also stated, “Information supplied by the vendors’ association helped HELP Resources to liaise with other partners such as UN Women, Wewak Urban Local Government and the Town Market Supervisor to try and provide a safe and conducive working environment for vendors to conduct business under. We are very excited the Vendors Collective Voices has received a 6-month extension with PPP and Commonwealth Foundation as well as a UN Women partnership.”

Youths from a roadside market reading one of the translated COVID19 factsheet from Hesperian Health Guides, translated by HELP Resources. Credit: HELP-Resource PNG

Economically, the world has been greatly impacted by COVID-19, slowing some production lines temporarily, limiting shipments, and halting tourism globally. Women have been proven to be more vulnerable in this situation, as is often the case. In an article published by The Jakarta Post on September 22, 2020 (2), Oliver Tonby and Phillia Wibowo stated, “Globally women account for 54 percent of overall job losses despite comprising 39 percent of the global workforce. Put another way, a woman in work is nearly twice as likely to lose a job than a man.” This is predominantly because not only are women the main providers of unpaid care work, but are also in the industries most affected by the pandemic, such as retail, hospitality, and food services. Any gaps in financial security in the home are often filled by female vendors trading food, textiles, weaving, or other homemade goods.

Further research done by Tonby and Wibowo found that “if no action is taken to counter the gender-regressive effects of COVID-19, global gross domestic product (GDP) growth could be US$1 trillion lower in 2030. That would represent a significant hit to economies already struggling to recover from the pandemic.

“Conversely, (they) found that if policymakers make decisions now, in 2020 and beyond, that boost gender equality by 2030, it could add $13 trillion to global GDP. ….. A middle path — taking action on gender equality only after the crisis has subsided rather than now — reduces the potential opportunity by more than $5 trillion. The cost of that delay amounts to three-quarters of the total GDP we could potentially lose to COVID-19 this year.” (2)

Based on these findings, it is evident that including gender equality in the economic recovery response plans is crucial, not only for the support of women but also for success in economic recovery and progress in general.

Footnotes:

(1) Xiao Bang, and Darmadi Gemala. (2020, October 2). ‘Coronavirus is exacerbating menstruation health risks for those living in ‘period poverty’. ABC News Australia

(2) Tonby, Oliver and Wibowo, Phillia. (2020, September 22). “Maintaining progress on gender equality is key to Indonesia’s pandemic recovery”. The Jakarta Post

Agnieszka (Aggie) Zuchora holds a Master of Environment with a focus on Development and has experience in community engagement across the Pacific and in humanitarian aid.

People & Passages: Johnny Edmonds

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Johnny Edmonds, A Champion of Indigenous Tourism

Prepared by Dani McDonald, Communications/Media, New Zealand Māori Tourism

We learned with heavy hearts that our dear friend and colleague, Johnny Edmonds passed away in May 2020. Johnny was a stickler for detail and flag bearer for the development and strengthening of indigenous tourism. For Johnny, tourism was a vehicle for indigenous people to tell their own story. It is because of his foresight that New Zealand Māori Tourism exists today.

Johnny held executive management positions for indigenous non-profit organizations for the past two decades in Aotearoa and Australia. These include the Waitangi National Trust, Taitokerau Regional Māori Tourism Organisation, NZ Māori Tourism Council and the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council. He served on tourism industry boards in NZ and Australia and held statutory and executive management positions in the NZ government.

Johnny led the formation of the national body of NZ Māori Tourism, as we know it today, from 2004 – 2007 where he helmed the establishment and organizational development of the NZ Māori Tourism Council, and the development of national and international relationships to foster the development of Māori tourism. In 2005, only one year into his new role at NZ Māori Tourism, Johnny established the inaugural nationwide conference in Tāmaki Makaurau focusing on operating sustainable clusters alongside the former Associate Minister of Tourism, Hon Dover Samuels. A year later, Johnny’s expertise at building relations was evidenced in a collaboration between Government and NZ Māori Tourism to provide targeted mentoring services to the business development needs of small Māori tourism businesses.

Johnny poured his energy into turning the attention of the tourism industry toward the Māori tourism product. During his tenure, Johnny saw that Māori tourism would grow Aotearoa’s entire tourism industry. Māori tourism eventually became the fastest growing sector, as a result of Johnny’s dedication and visionary leadership.

Ottawa Youth Forum for Young Women Across Canada

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By Chesa Abma

At the forum, Chesa Abma (front left) learned that women are the eyes and ears of the community.

Early this year, after hearing about an exciting opportunity from PPP Executive Director, April Ingham, I found out I was selected by the BC Council for International Cooperation (BCCIC) to go with the Inter-Council Network (ICN) youth delegation to attend the 64th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW64) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The delegation was comprised of eight fierce young women from across the country, all working in and passionate about areas related to gender equality. After connecting with my fellow delegates through webinars and navigating my way through the event schedules, I was full of excitement about what I would experience. My focus for CSW64 was issues related to justice and Indigenous rights.

In early March as we were getting ready to embark on our travels, we were disappointed to hear of the cancellation of CSW64 due to COVID-19. Although this was certainly the right choice, there were feelings of sadness for all the work done by individuals around the world to bring different discussions and events together that would now be cancelled or hopefully moved to an online platform.

Little did I know as I was coming to terms with the news, that Senator Marilou McPhederan and her team in Ottawa were coming up with an alternative. A Youth Forum for young women from across Canada. In a quick change of events, I found myself on route to Ottawa for the first time in my life. Over two days, we heard from many impressive and influential people: these included Afghan-Canadian politician and Minister for International Development, the Hon. Maryam Monsef; Canada’s first ambassador for women, peace and security, H.E. Jacqueline O’Neill; members of the Canadian Senate, and experienced professionals working for NGOs in the field of women’s rights and gender equality.

During our first Round Table, I was blown away by the important work being done within our different communities. It was inspiring hearing about all the efforts made towards achieving gender equality in areas that included but were not limited to health, Indigenous rights, gender-based violence, and LGBTQ2+ rights. I was appreciative of the representation in the room and the experience and wisdom that my fellow delegates brought forward. There were stories detailing the many complex issues faced by women nationally and globally and how the understanding of intersectionality is vital in addressing those issues. As I listened, I thought about how crucial it is that we continuously make the effort to come together and find out what is going on for folks in all communities both near and far. The experience of being in a room with so many strong young leaders was humbling in the best sense.

It was interesting to hear about the work and experience of the Senators and speakers. I appreciated hearing about their journeys and the insight they provided. Senator Mobina Jaffer told us that as women “we bring the point of view of the community, as we are the eyes and ears of the community.” I had so many questions, but there was limited time. I took away a lot from the thoughtful dialogue and difficult questions brought forward by everyone in the group. I appreciated that there were genuine invitations made by the Senators to continue the conversations with them.

Attendees of the March 2020 Ottawa Youth Forum.

As a young Indigenous woman, I had conflicted feelings about being in Ottawa and in a space where the decisions made have an immense impact on every aspect of our lives. It is hard not to think about how often the people most negatively impacted by these decisions face the most barriers in having their voices heard. For this reason, having the opportunity to share my thoughts and ideas is not one I take lightly. I know that having this experience has added to my understanding of the Canadian Governmental structure and processes, which will continue to be helpful into the future. After listening to each other’s stories and feeling our collective determination and passion, I left Ottawa feeling hopeful, especially if efforts such as this one continue to engage diverse groups of young people.

It was an honour to witness the events over these two days. Hay’sxw’qa si’em to everyone who attended, Senator McPhedran and her team, all the guest speakers, BCCIC, ICN, PPP and April Ingham.

Chesa Abma, a member of Xwsepsum (Esquimalt Nation), is honoured to live and learn on her ancestral lands in the beautiful Lekwungen territory. As she has worked for Pacific Peoples’ Partnership in the past, she is grateful for the experience and knowledge gained and the relationships formed during her time with PPP. Sustained by her passion for education and justice, Chesa will be pursuing studies in the Indigenous Law Program at the University of Victoria in the Fall of 2020.

COVID-19 Impacts on the Informal Economy in Wewak, Papua New Guinea

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By Penial Kabilo, Project Lead, Vendors Collective Voices, HELP Resources

Quick statistics: With the markets closed since March 28 2020, 1400 vendors in the Wewak market could not earn a living for 4-5 weeks now. At least 500  street vendors sold outside the market. And at least another 500 had so called table markets around a small radius from the market. So approx 2500 had their livelihood greatly impacted. 

With most urban markets around the country temporarily closed due to the Corona virus threat, local informal economy workers are already

Empty Wewak Market

feeling the brunt of this global pandemic. Unlike workers in the formal systems who are guaranteed some social security during the lock-down, informal workers are not eligible for such social protection.

Social distancing and staying at home are death sentences for this group of workers that work in a grey area of the economy. Those in authority are of the perception that informal economy workers are involved in illegal activities, they are unimportant, that it is largely women’s work therefore is of no real significance and is less productive. However, these workers play a crucial role in the functioning of urban centres. Market vendors maintain urban food security, provide nutritious street food, reduce poverty by offering low cost food alternatives and other services.

Their absences on the streets and in markets around the country in the last one and half months is surely affecting the proper functioning of urban life. Urban food security is under threat during the lock-down, as not all urban residents

The same area before the lock down and State of emergency.

are able to stock up on store goods. Much needed cheap local organic food is not reaching consumers, the absence of this marginalized and vulnerable group is beginning to be noticed by the majority and those in authority.

If there was a time that those in authority can provide social assistance to informal workers, now is the time. But for a country like PNG where social security systems are almost non-existent, it is an impossible task.

However, such decisions are made to safeguard our health and minimize the spread of the Corona Virus. A sad fact that many informal economy workers and the general public must accept and live with.

Closure of Wewak Main Market and other privately run markets.

 The closure of the main market took effect on 28th March and has been so for more than 1 month now.  The Provincial Chairman for the COVID- 19 response team recently announced through a circular that the main market will still be closed until such time the threat from COVID-19 is neutralized, for time being designated areas for temporary markets are at Boram/Moem Junction, Kaindi and Yawasoro. Small suburban markets are encouraged with social distancing and good hygiene practices to be observed. Vendors at other districts are encouraged to trade in their respective districts.

 The Wewak Town Market on average has 1200 vendors and is one of the main revenue earners for Wewak Urban Local Level Government, with an estimated 1.4 million Kina (450 000 US Dollars) rolling into the Local Level Government’s account per year (HELP Resources Baseline report 2018). With its closure, revenue shortfall is imminent, according to the Wewak Urban LLG who went on the local news, casual staff will be laid off due to shortfall in revenue. They have since been pressuring the Provincial COVID-19 task-force chairman to reopen the market.

Vendors are also affected by the closure, in one of HELP Resources community outreach to Hawain, a village located outside of the urban boundaries, village women have expressed dissatisfaction at the current situation. They have no space to bring their produce to sell and the designated areas available for trading are not safe. They have made pleas to authorities to have some proper systems in place during this state of emergency.

This area is usually crowded during fortnights, not the case in this photo taken last week Friday (24th April).

Since then, pressure from vendors, the general public and the Wewak Urban Local Level Government has made the Provincial Covid-19 task-force to reconsider their decision. Just recently in our meeting with the Local Level Government Officials 28th April HELP Resources has been notified that a decision has been reached on the 22nd April to reopen the Town Market on the 5th of May. However other smaller suburban markets and the two privately run markets (Dagua and Kreer) will not be opened to the general public, a decision that will surely create some hot air. Scholar Sengi who is an urban reseller has already made an appeal to local authorities to reopen Dagua Market, she buys betel nut from rural vendors and resells this at Dagua Market. Since the closure of the market she and other urban resellers were forced to sell at their respective communities and other unfamiliar territories. She has since noticed a big decline in her revenue and cannot fully support her family.

Other vendors who depend mostly on informal economy have all expressed similar sentiments. Not only does the market closures affect their daily income but also the lack of customers. The travel restrictions and the general panic of contracting the virus has caused people to stay at home. Maria, 70-year-old woman who sells

Maria selling next to her house at Sepik Timber

home baked scones in front of her house is one such vendor who is finding it very hard to make ends meet due to this situation. Her husband is unemployed, and their only source of income is from her daily sales.

Food security in Wewak

The closure of the Main market and two privately run markets has affected the food security of urban residents. These markets supply fresh vegetables and other local spices as well as fresh fish and other sea foods. Market closure means no supply. Not all urban residents in Wewak can afford to relay on store goods for two weeks, markets complement their meals.  Nutritious organic foods from the rural areas are in demand at these times. The designated markets in operation are operating on ad hoc, no regulations on prices and no form of management. Their operations are based on mutual understanding between vendors and customers, security is also a concern as these markets are pushed to the fringes of the town.

HELP Responses to this crisis

Rural vendors selling at one of the designated areas, (Kaindi).

The State of Emergency and COVID-19 threat has not deterred the team from HELP Resources from going ahead with our project activities, however on a lesser scale than was expected. The team has realised that informal economy vendors are the most affected group within our societies at this very challenging time, hence the office must operate to serve, protect and represent their interests.  The Project, Vendors Voice shaping Informal Economy’s main activity for this year, the informal economy community information sessions will be used as a forum to encourage, communicate and strengthen vendor’s spirits at this dark period. Moreover, HELP Resources is also in dialogue with Local Government and other partners to assist with the reopening of the main market. The office is also assisting women who cannot sell their handicraft by advertising on social media.  All our field activities are strictly planned with close observations to State of Emergency rules and COVID-19 Health requirements.

Penial Kabilo, Project Lead, Vendors Voice Shaping Informal Economy Development.  Penial’s main role is to provide leadership in the projects operations that includes leading a cadre of community based IE advocates, provide advice to existing vendor’s association and guide formations of new associations, providing training to local government officials, vendors and other stakeholders on Informal economy development and also liaise between HELP Resources and local government on the projects development. Plus maintain and provide updates on the project development on social media.

RECENT FACEBOOK UPDATES:

HELP Resources meets with Wewak Town Authorities April 28, 2020

Amid the doom and gloom of COVID-19, some positives are slowly emerging for informal economy workers, especially the market vendors and the residents of Wewak town. A brief brainstorming meeting was held today with partners from Wewak Urban Local Level Government and Wewak Town Commission. The main agenda was on the effects of COVID-19 on the informal economy in Wewak and how best HELP Resources can assist with the reopening of Wewak Town Market with respect to current SOE rules and COVID-19 health measures. We have been assured by Mr. Kabaru and the Deputy Mayor that the Town Market will reopen on May 5th. Unfortunately, all other roadside markets will remain closed. Other designated markets at Boram Junction, Old Airstrip, Kaindi and Yawasoro will remain open for the time being.

HELP Resources informal market meetings about COVID

Information Session at Tui village, Hawain by HELP Resources on the Informal Economy and the importance of vendor’s voice. With the current (COVID) restrictions and closure on Wewak’s main market, rural vendors are finding it very tough, the importance of having a united voice at these uncertain times is vital in bringing rural vendors concerns to relevant authorities.

HELP-Resources Project in PNG’s East Sepik Province, Year 2

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By Jill Akara Bosro, Manager, Help Resources

 In 2017 Pacific Peoples’ Partnership (PPP) and HELP-Resources (HELP-R) planned a three-year project to demonstrate effective, district-level implementation of the Papua New Guinea’s Informal Economy Act, and associated government policy and strategy. Funded by the Commonwealth Foundation (CF), this pilot project aims to facilitate education, information and training that will motivate and support emerging vendors organisations and their leaders to find their collective voice while influence planning and budgeting for effective development.

Geraldine, (and grandson) maker and trader of re-usable shopping bags

With a population of about 25,000, Wewak town has at least fifteen ‘markets’ and many more informal, street trading hubs of various sizes, operating under different regimes. Only one is managed by local government. Every day, an estimated three to five thousand women are trading under challenging conditions. While some women vendors can build viable, small enterprises, most live precariously from day to day, on small incomes derived from informal trade as many have done for decades. Wewak’s main market has 1,000-1,500 women vendors’ daily – 96% are female or children.

In October 2018 HELP-R with a team of vendors and local community development leaders, completed a baseline survey across Wewak’s only government-managed market and twelve more informal markets. A comprehensive first year report by Elizabeth (Sabet) Cox appeared in the March 2019 edition of Pasifik Currents.

In a new development at the start of Year 2, PNG’s national government decided to include the East Sepik Province in a National Audit of the Informal Economy (IE), and UN Women announced that it will launch a market-based project in another rural district of East Sepik Province, complementary to the HELP Resources project. In addition to the government statistical audits and the UN’s large-scale project scoping, HELP-R’s more in-depth qualitative baseline survey brought a strong gender analysis and rights framework that informs and complements these new efforts to roll out government IE policy.

The findings were presented to key stakeholders followed-up several weeks later with a well moderated seminar with senior government officials and newly elected mayor and local government councilors, vendors leaders, and representatives of local police, public health and commerce. Representatives of both government and vendors had an opportunity to dialogue and made important “in principle” commitments to work together for change.

There were slight delays due to local government elections, and a change of key personnel in the Wewak Town Commission. But interest and commitment to develop structures and processes for the constructive engagement of organised vendors and local government have been shared publicly with an event to formalize this agreement – re-scheduled to the first quarter of year 3 of the Project.

HELP Resources Informal Economy Educators and Advocates

In Year 2, HELP-R has focused more on women vendors ‘education and organisation for constructive engagement with local government. This is based on its comparative advantage in working with women vendors, informing and educating them through a range of popular education strategies and tools.

Throughout the second half of year 2, HELP-R has worked intensively with:

  1. the local government as duty bearers and administering authority of the PNG Informal Economy policy and law.
  2. the emerging vendors’ organisation representing the collective voice of citizens active in the informal economy and rights holders under the IE law and PNG Constitution

Both government officials on the ‘supply side’ and market and street vendors on the ‘demand side’, have been supported to learn about PNG Informal economy policy and legislative framework, as well as the (Vendors) Voice strategy of government, launched in 2018, which is directly aligned with the HELP-R Vendors Voice project. Both government and vendors have started to see a way forward.

A large group of Women Sepik River sago traders in Wewak market

The baseline survey was extended to include the rural local government areas of Wewak District. Field trips were arranged, and political and practical support was provided by the office of the Governor of the East Sepik. Throughout May and June 2019, a 2-woman research team re-visited the 12 markets originally covered, plus an additional 24 markets, covering all wards and Local Governments in Wewak District. They observed and documented the history, operations, strengths and challenges of these diverse markets and trading hubs. The field researchers met and talked to local community leaders about the social and economic significance of their trade and the trends they had observed over the years. They recorded responses and testimonies and statements by vendors. These were transcribed to give a snapshot situational analysis of 37 markets in Wewak District. HELP-R team has continued to visit and reach out to the rural vendors so that their Voice is not silenced by that of urban vendors and that their specific issues will be recognized. The baseline survey report was compiled in June and published locally in July.

HELP-R has recently been invited by UN Women to bid for a tender to provide capacity development and training for vendors’ organisations in 2020. This would be a welcome supplement to the limited project funds available to strengthen vendors organisations.

Breaking news: HELP-R has just provided PPP with a COVID market impact update, see this here.

Founded in 1999, HELP Resources is currently led by a younger generation of development workers with a mission to work with local government and civil society to deliver more effectively on laws, policies and strategies for social protection and development. You may visit the HELP Resources Facebook page, to follow the project’s progress.  All photos are submitted by Help-R

Based in London, England, the Commonwealth Foundation, is the Commonwealth’s agency for civil society, supporting participation in democracy and development. It supports ‘civic voices’ to act together and influence the institutions that shape people’s lives.

Forty-five Years and Counting: A Reflection on the Many Accomplishments of the Pacific Peoples’ Partnership

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Victoria Peace Walk-Nuclear Free Pacific by ©Belau-Jurgen Pokrandt

By Art Holbrook with grateful input by Jim Boutilier, PPP’s President Emeritus and Founder of SPPF

Seventy-five years ago in August 1945, the United States Air Force dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Those bombs unleashed a race to build ever more destructive weapons. Several nations turned to the vast Pacific Ocean for these tests. However, vast as it is, the Pacific is far from uninhabited.

The United States began post-war tests starting in 1946 at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands of Micronesia with the residents of the atoll moved to Rongerik Atoll ahead of the first tests. They were left alone there for over a year before an anthropologist from the University of Hawaii found them starving on the barren landscape, and they were moved again. Even today, Marshall Islanders from islands near Bikini have elevated levels of many cancers; the female population has a cervical cancer mortality rate that has been reported to be 60 times higher than comparable mainland U.S. populations.[i] The people of the Marshall Islands have filed many lawsuits in an effort to compensate them for the desecration of their homelands and the damage to their health.

The United States was not alone in nuclear testing in the Pacific. The British, beginning in 1952, tested nuclear weapons in the Gilbert and Ellice Island archipelago which in 1976 became the independent nations of Kiribati and Tuvalu. Amid mounting protests from Pacific Island nations and anti-nuclear activists from many countries at the increasing evidence of nuclear fallout around the world, atmospheric and underwater testing was forbidden under the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963. Despite this ban, nuclear testing continued. The French conducted aerial nuclear tests on Mururoa and Fangataufa in the Tuamotu archipelago of French Polynesia starting in 1966 and underground tests up to 1996.

The remote and seemingly peaceful islands of Micronesia, Polynesia and Melanesia, the three regions that contain so many small island nations of the Pacific Ocean, have remained to this day part of the on-going great power struggle for dominance of the region. With the Japanese pushed out of the islands during World War II, the island nations soon became part of the Cold War as Russia attempted to build influence in Micronesia and later competition between the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People’s Republic of China as they sought friends and allies in Oceania as each of those nations sought votes in the United Nations. Today, China is active in the region, principally in Polynesia and Melanesia, as they fund major building projects and seek to influence island state governments. Their activity, and their aggressive approach in the region, have generated increasing concern in western capitals.

What does this brief history have to do with the 45th anniversary of Pacific Peoples’ Partnership (PPP)? The Pacific Peoples’ Partnership, or the South Pacific Peoples’ Foundation (SPPF) as it was known from 1975 to 2000, was founded in Canada as an adjunct of a U.S.-based organization, the Foundation for the Peoples of the South Pacific whose main goal was to protest the nuclear tests. The U.S. link brought suspicion on SPPF because of the American nuclear testing. Recognizing this challenge to SPPF’s identity and desiring more autonomy, the organization soon broke away from its U.S. parent and became an independent organization.

Even as social justice and environmental issues grew in importance in SPPF’s early years, the foundation remained responsive to military issues. It lobbied against Canadian military participation in naval exercises targeting a Hawaiian island sacred to the indigenous people there. It also became a partner with Pacific Islanders in the Pacific Campaign Against Sea-Launched Cruise Missiles. SPPF’s role in that campaign was to alert global peace committees that, while land-based cruise missiles were being curtailed in Europe, those missiles were making their way to Pacific testing sites.

But the early members of SPPF had a more ambitious agenda on their minds than just military testing. From the beginning SPPF’s vision was clear: to increase awareness among Canadians of development issues in the Pacific Islands, and to attempt to connect knowledge of input-and-response networks with the Pacific Islands. As well, the organization developed efforts to connect knowledge and cultural sharing among Indigenous peoples both in Canada and the Pacific with a goal of building solidarity. And, of course, we needed to develop a membership and funding base to support our activities both in Canada and in the Pacific.

SPPF/PPP’s First Executives, (l to r) Phil Esmonde, Randall Garrison, Stuart Wulff and Margaret Argue.

In the early days, SPPF was fortunate to have substantial funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and took full advantage of those funds to carry out ambitious projects in the South Pacific. However, government funding is a double-edge sword. It gave us the wherewithal to carry out programs but we always had to be sure we were within the guidelines set out by the government of the day. Early boards and directors recognized this challenge and began diversifying PPP’s revenue sources, a fortunate piece of advance planning as CIDA funding dried up in the 1990’s. As Stuart Wulff, former PPP executive director from 1991-2000, said, “In a way, the lost CIDA funding liberated us to follow our vision. PPP is now more engaged directly on the ground.”

What has PPP accomplished in our forty-five years?

Andy Nystrom, PPP’s invaluable archivist and research assistant, has compiled a fascinating selection of 45 projects and events highlighted in back issues of Tok Blong Pasifik, the foundation’s news magazine. These initiatives, ranging from artist exchanges to cyclone relief to HIV/AIDS prevention to youth and programs to combat violence against women, demonstrate PPP’s wide-ranging activities and relevance in the South Pacific. Long-time PPP members may celebrate anew our organization’s rich history while new members can learn what a dynamic and richly-rewarding experience being part of PPP can be. We hope you enjoy these glimpses into our archives; it is our goal to make those archives even more accessible in the future. Here are a couple of samples of what you will find there:

 Vanuatu, We Are With You! (2015)

On March 13, 2015, category 5 Cyclone Pam devastated the southern region of Vanuatu. By virtue of ties that run deep between Victoria, Canada and Vanuatu, the shock of this event quickly became very personal for Victoria, British Columbia residents that have family, friends or colleagues in the region. Reports from the country lent compelling urgency to mobilizing support focusing on this unprecedented natural disaster during which access to safe drinking water, food and housing became an immediate priority.

Vanuatu Member of Parliament, Ralph Regenvanu reported at the time, “The total population of Vanuatu is affected, as the cyclone travelled north to south, with the eye going over Shepherds, Efate, Erromango and Tanna. Cyclone Pam has damaged or destroyed 90 per cent of the infrastructure in Port Vila, Vanuatu’s capital and largest town, and damage to the more remote islands and communities is equally devastating.”

In very short order, Pacific People’s Partnership (PPP) flew into action connecting with Canadian government officials, key organizations and individuals in Canada and in the South Pacific. A hallmark fund-raising event, “Vanuatu, We Are With You!”, did much to raise the disaster’s profile, bringing together PPP’s staunch supporters and many new friends of the organization to raise over $11,000. Half the funds were put towards a shipping container filled with much needed supplies for disaster relief and the remainder for rebuilding of schools and hospitals.

Enterprising West Papuan Women Initiative (2013-2015)

WATINI Indigenous Women’s Collective, Wefiani Village, West Papua.

Enterprising West Papuan Women was funded through Development & Peace, LUSH Canada, and other donors between 2013 and 2015. It was facilitated in partnership with the Manokwari-based Institute for Research, Analysis, and Development of Legal Aid (LP3BH) to support livelihood opportunities for women in West Papua and promote gender equality. Under this program, PPP constructed several women’s cooperative centres within Arowi and Mansinam, both in the Bird’s Head Peninsula of West Papua. The centres function as small-scale, co-operative stalls for livelihood development and related skill-building activities such as financial management, strategic planning, proposal writing, and community organizing.

It has been no small feat for PPP just to stay alive for forty-five years … indeed, many NGOs don’t last that long. However, PPP has met many challenges to accomplish that feat. Even more, it has been an achievement to have produced so many significant programs and events for the people of the South Pacific and the Indigenous peoples of Canada in those forty-five years. We look back proudly at our past and with eager anticipation we look forward to what comes next.

I believe it can be said with confidence that PPP has demonstrated its resilience and enduring relevance over the years. We remain Canada’s only non-governmental organizational devoted to the people of the South Pacific and, as such, have a voice of authority that is acknowledged by out federal and provincial governments and by the people of many countries throughout the South Pacific region. In recent years PPP has sent First Nations youth to the islands as part of an expanded mandate that recognizes the historical parallels between Canada’s Indigenous peoples and the peoples of the South Pacific as they work to overcome the challenges of their colonial pasts. While the Covid-19 pandemic has delayed some new developments, we are on the cusp of new and exciting programs that will add more chapters to PPP’s legacy as we look to our 50th anniversary.

Canadian Cabinet Minister Maryam Monsef, Squamish Council Members and PPP Executive Director April Ingham at a PPP/BCCIC Side Event The Longhouse Dialogues as part of a Women Deliver Conference, June 2019.

Prepared by Art Holbrook, PPP Board Member and Chair of the Communications Committee. Art has been a board member at PPP for the last three years. He has traveled to Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu and has developed an affinity for the people of the South Pacific island nations.

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For 45 years, Pacific Peoples’ Partnership has supported the aspirations of South Pacific Islanders and Indigenous peoples for peace, environmental sustainability, social justice and community development.

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