Pacific Peoples' Partnership

Connecting Indigenous and Pacific Peoples

People & Passages: Habitat House

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A New Home for a Local Pacific Family

Prepared by Jaimie Sumner, PPP Operations Coordinator, who is familiar with Habitat’s important work, having previously managed a local Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

We are thrilled to share the news that a local Indigenous / Pacific Islander family, Tina and Niu Savea and their 3 kids, is getting a new home!  The Savea family has Cree and Samoan roots and has been working toward a house of their own for years.  Earlier this year, they found out that their dream was to come true through a partnership program with Habitat for Humanity Victoria.

The Savea family in Victoria, B.C. is excited that Habitat for Humanity is helping them invest into their family’s future.

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization focused on providing safe and stable homes for lower-income families in Canada and across the world.  Many people are familiar with Habitat’s international housing projects but are unaware that local chapters focus on building houses too. In Victoria, families apply to their local Habitat for Humanity to be considered for the local homeownership program.  If selected, each family invests 500 hours of their own labour into Habitat’s volunteer programs by helping out at builds, Habitat stores, and special events. Habitat homes are sold to qualified families at fair market value and are financed with affordable mortgages at no more than 30% of the family’s income. The homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments go into a revolving fund, which is used to build more homes.

Habitat for Humanity Victoria is building eleven new homes this year. Their work is supported by community donations and by two secondhand home & building supply outlets called ReStores.  Consider shopping or donating if you can.  And congratulations to the Savea family on qualifying for their new home!

Tina Savea shared:

“Now is the perfect time to let you all in on some exciting news for our family… We have been blessed to partner with Habitat for Humanity and to be able to purchase our very own home. We have always desired to buy a home… but the very expensive market in Victoria we would either have to leave the city we have grown to love or have to save for 100 years. LOL, We didn’t want to do either. 

We were told about this amazing organization that helps make buying a home possible for families like ours. AND they just happen to be doing a build 3 minutes away from the house we are in now & only STEPS away from the ocean!! We took the plunge and started the 6-month process of applying! Months later we got the phone call we were accepted. Now here we are, helping build our brand new home, connected to a great community of people & all extremely grateful to this amazing organization. Habitat for Humanity is helping us invest in our family’s future!”

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.

Black Lives Matter: Local Focus

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Prepared by Zachary Fenn, Development Coordinator, Pacific Peoples’ Partnership

Pacific Peoples’ Partnerships (PPP) will not stay silent in the face of systemic injustice. We must act and speak in solidarity with the Black and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) communities. Our mission of supporting the aspirations of Canadian and South Pacific Indigenous peoples for peace, justice, and environmental sustainability includes speaking out against the unjust, racist, and systemic violence Black and Indigenous people face every day in Canada and worldwide.

Black Lives Matter Protest in Washington D.C, USA. May 31st, 2020. Photograph by Koshu Kunii

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has shed light on the ongoing violence and systemic racism that people in the black community have faced for generations. The death of George Floyd on May 25th has sparked a long-overdue conversation. Now we see perhaps the biggest movement in recent history, with as many as 15-26 million Americans – and many more in Canada and across the world – demanding system change. Systemic injustices, white supremacy, and police brutality are not new realities for black communities, and unrooting capitalist colonial systems is imperative for BIPOC communities.

The movement has made progress in beginning to address years of wrongdoings. George Floyd’s murderer was convicted of 2nd-degree murder, and the other officers present were charged with aiding and abetting the murder. Around the United States, numerous cities have defunded their police departments or are reviewing budget cuts and tearing down colonial statues. In Canada too there are pressures on cities to defund their police budgets; Surrey is being criticized for its superficial approach to police reform, and an open letter is circulating to the Vancouver police board and the provincial government to ban street checks, which have been shown to be harmful and discriminatory against Indigenous, Black, and low-income communities.

While focalizing Black lives and Black rights, the BLM movement in Canada has also seen Indigenous involvement and a broader focus on Indigenous rights and struggles. Many in the movement have pointed out the connections between Black and Indigenous experiences of systemic racism and violence and the intersectionality needed to fully dismantle the colonial racist structures that are still in place today. Canada has a long history of injustices toward Indigenous peoples, including colonization, residential schools, the sixties scoop, and police abuses such as the starlight tours. Often Canada prides itself on being a multicultural country while placing European settler culture at the centre and other cultures as an add on – including First Nations peoples. As Moussa Magassa, human rights educator at the University of Victoria, explained in an interview with Douglas Magazine, “Multiculturalism for many Canadians is white culture and its tolerance of other cultures, with the condition that the latter play by its rules and so-called Canadian values.”’

PPP President Mua Va’a and family on June 7 BLM rally. Photo by Johanna Buermans

Rallies in support of BLM are ongoing across Canada. PPP’s President Muavae Va’a was proud to stand in solidarity in one of the Victoria BLM rallies, where peaceful and powerful dialogue was established from Indigenous and black organizers to thousands of supporters. One of the organizers, Asiyah Robinson, shared the aim of the rally with Chek News: “We’re trying to bring people together. We’re trying to make sure our community knows that they have a platform and they have a voice. We’re trying to make sure that people try and see the varied ranges of ages, of direction, of just histories that all of our black people have and to just honour their voices, give them their space. And also talk to our allies about what we’re looking for and what our next steps will be because this is just the first.”

Black Lives Matter Protest in Washington D.C, USA. May 31st, 2020. Photograph by Koshu Kunii

Tackling systemic racism in our own communities is crucial. The BLM movement exhorts all of us to listen to people of colour and other marginalized communities. It demands that we do the work to learn about our histories of racism, recognize our own biases and privileges, examine ongoing systems of oppression, and demand change. For ways you can help support this work in Canada, please check out the resources below:

Ways to help In Canada

(from GreenPeace.org)

    • Justice For Regis Korchinski-Paquet: Get Mayor John Tory, MPP Bhutila Karpoche, and Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders to commit to a transparent investigation and to hold the officers involved accountable in the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet through firing and filing charges

Indigenous Businesses to support in Canada

You can search this database by location or type of business:

https://shopfirstnations.com/

Black-owned Businesses to support in Victoria 

(List from @urvoicematters_ on Instagram)

    • Blue Nile East African restaurant
    • Carribean Village Cafe 
    • Zucchini Wives Food & beverage 
    • House of Boateng cafe 
    • Le Petit Dakar 
    • Trini to D bone 
    • Nallaju Cuisine 
    • Messob Ethiopian Cuisine 
    • Stir It Up Victoria 
    • Lulu’s apron 
    • Elk & The Tide Catering 
    • C-lashes 
    • Lashes by Randeel 
    • MK- Beauty – Face, Beauty, & Hair 
    • Who Dyd your hair 
    • Now I look Good 
    • Kande Global Hair Couturiere
    • GX Barbers 
    • Status Barber Shop 
    • Mocutz 
    • Dre Searles tattoos and illustrations 
    • Strictly roots events 
    • N8 images
    • Victoria Africa fest 
    • Bask Arts Home Decor 
    • Udamma Fashion 
    • Tribe Asani Fashion 
    • Island afrikan supermarket 
    • Mount Tolmie market
    • Shea butter market 
    • CREAN Society Youth Empowerment 
    • Maureen Washington vocal coach 
    • Purity clean victoria 
    • SW creations 
    • I dream in decor 
    • Doula Jay Duncan 
    • Storm fit nation 
    • Merge combat and fitness 
    • Flight basketball 

Papuan Lives Matter: Oppression in West Papua Continues

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Prepared by Peter Boldt, Multimedia Coordinator, Pacific Peoples’ Partnership

Just as the old proverb goes, history, unfortunately, tends to repeat itself. Corporate impunity, top-down development and violent dispossession are just but a few characteristics which describe everyday life for many Indigenous Peoples throughout the world who continue to fight for their survival. These painful realities have existed since the establishment of colonialism but oppression and systematic racism continue to occur on a global scale in the present. The Indigenous Peoples of West Papua who make up around 50% of the population of the region referred to in Indonesian as “Papua Barat”, are often victims of this continued oppression, and face acts of intense police brutality, land dispossession and persecution perpetrated by the Indonesian government.

Children in West Papua. (Photo by Leslie Butt, featured in Tok Blong Pasifik Vol. 55 No. 2)

The territory of West Papua is situated within an intersection of complex histories of colonization and competing geopolitical interests. Some 2 million Papuans call the land of West Papua their ancestral home and are ethnic Melanesians who share close connections with the peoples of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. West Papua had been under the colonial rule of the Dutch since the 16th century and was poised for independence in the mid-1960s. Unfortunately, at the behest of the United States, control over the territory was handed to Indonesia as part of the now-infamous New York Agreement. A few years later, in 1969, the “Act of Free Choice” would ostensibly provide West Papuans with an opportunity to vote for their independence. The referendum however was a sham, and would later be mockingly referred to as the “Act of no-choice”. Only 1,025 citizens participated in the vote and were hand-selected by the Indonesian military. Some were even allegedly forced to cast their ballot at gunpoint, resulting in an unsurprising unanimous vote in favour of Indonesian control. Countless advocacy groups and democratic organizations have since protested the results of the referendum and continue to call on the United Nations and the rest of the international community to support West Papuan independence.

Despite its large resource endowments including one of the largest gold mines in the world (Grasberg Mine) and recent focus of corporate development, West Papua possesses the lowest Human Development score (HDI) in Indonesia at 60.1 (compared to the Indonesian average of 70.1). Poverty affects around 25% of the population compounded by high rates of maternal mortality, illiteracy, unemployment and HIV. These issues have been exacerbated by indiscriminate discrimination, restrictions of political expression, and police violence. To illustrate, in February 2020 an investigation by the Indonesian National Human Rights Commission determined that a 2014 shooting committed by the military, which saw the death of four Papuan students and injured 21 others, was a gross violation of human rights. Sadly, just a few days after the judgement, another shooting transpired killing one Papuan and injuring several others.

(Source: Tok Blong Pasifik Archives)

These kinds of killings, beatings and torture are part of everyday life for many Papuans. It is unsurprising then that the murder of George Floyd in May of this year and the momentum of the #BlackLivesMatter movement resonated strongly with Papuans who also face similar injustices in their daily lives. In response, Papuans and allies rallied around the hashtag #PapuanLivesMatter in an effort to bring international attention to their struggle. Lamentably, foreign journalists are rarely permitted entry to West Papua and domestic journalists are tightly controlled through harsh anti-defamation laws. Because of this, the Indonesian military is rarely held accountable for their oppressive actions. In addition to militarization and land dispossession, Papuans who study and work elsewhere in Indonesia are often victims of racial abuse and discrimination. The Papuan identity is thus under a siege that spans economic, cultural, and social dimensions.

(Source: Tok Blong Pasifik Archives)

 History need not repeat itself and the #PapuanLivesMatter movement together with #BlackLivesMatter speaks to the critical juncture global society finds itself precariously situated within. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded on these tensions and injustices and exacerbated hardships for Papuans and African-Americans alike. Now is the time to act in favour of democracy, racial equality and human rights. Pacific Peoples’ Partnership continues to stand in solidarity with both the #PapuanLivesMatter and #BlackLivesMatter movements and in favour of decolonization, self-determination and social justice. 

Pacific Peoples’ Partnership has been involved in raising awareness about the West Papuan crisis for over 30 years. Through our Tok-Blong Journals and various advocacy campaigns, we have worked hard to shed light on the human rights and political abuses suffered to this day in West Papua. In October of last year (2019), amidst mounting state-led violence in West Papua, Pacific Peoples’ Partnership called on the Global Affairs Canada to pressure the Indonesian government to end the political and cultural persecution of West Papuans. Five months later, Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, returned correspondence indicating that Canada hoped for “a peaceful resolution to the ongoing situation in Papua…” whilst “recognizing and supporting the territorial integrity of Indonesia.” Pacific Peoples’ Partnerships was disappointed in the content of the response and hope Canada will take a stronger stance in favour of human rights and West Papuan independence.

Tourism and COVID-19: BC Indigenous Peoples and South Pacific Islands defend the right to health amid mounting pressure

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Prepared by Peter Boldt, Multimedia Coordinator, Pacific Peoples’ Partnership

For many, the choice between health and financial security is not mutually exclusive. Working remotely has provided many metro residents the privilege of a stable paycheck while safeguarding them from the coronavirus pandemic. The same cannot be said for remote Indigenous communities in British Columbia and South Pacific Island nations that rely on tourism for economic well-being. 

In late June, Public Health officials in British Columbia announced Phase 3, which allows non-essential travel within BC. This has led to an increase in intra-province travel and put many remote Indigenous communities at risk of coming into contact with COVID-19. Businesses reliant on tourism, such as retreats and fishing lodges, have begun re-opening, leading to a flood of tourists. Many businesses have opened their doors without proper consultation or discussion with Indigenous nations whose land they operate on.

Indigenous communities in Haida Gwaii have been hit particularly hard by COVID-19 outbreaks. (Image by Murray Foubister)

The Haida community in particular has taken a strong stance against the re-opening of tourist businesses, namely large-scale fishing lodges. Haida matriarchs are leading a resistance movement against non-essential travellers entering the territory unless the provincial government provides rapid testing kits, culturally-sensitive contact tracing teams, and tourist screening measures. Remote Indigenous communities such as those on Haida Gwaii have limited access to health resources and could be devastated by a COVID-19 outbreak. Haida Gwaii has only two ventilators for its population of about 4500. Moreover, for many Indigenous peoples, the protection of elders is tied to their cultural survival, as many are the last speakers of endangered languages and keepers of oral histories. And so, despite the economic implications, Indigenous leaders are exercising their sovereign right in protecting their lands and people.

Small island nations in the South Pacific have had a similar struggle with COVID-19, with governments closing borders to non-essential travel for fear of exposure. The tourism sector has taken a massive hit, causing huge economic shocks and prompting many to call coronavirus “the job-killer of the century. To put things in perspective, tourism makes up 20-30% of economic activity in countries like Samoa and Tonga, according to the IMF. Many island nations hoped to create a summer “travel bubble” to admit tourists from countries with low caseloads, only to determine the risks still too high. With massive job loss as well as food shortages affecting many Pacific Islands, public policymakers and citizens are grappling with the dichotomy between tourism dollars and health.

Both Indigenous communities and South Pacific island nations face unique circumstances in this pandemic. Many of these communities are vulnerable to a COVID-19 outbreak due to limited health resources, remoteness from larger facilities, and reliance on tourism. At the time of writing this article, B.C. Health officials have declared a COVID-19 outbreak on Haida Gwaii that has infected at least 13 individuals. 

At Pacific Peoples’ Partnership, we believe that communities come first.  We call on the provincial government and international community to respect the rights of Indigenous and South Pacific nations and prioritize health and safety over tourism dollars. We also call on B.C. tourist businesses to engage with, cooperate with, and respect the demands of the Haida Nation and all Indigenous nations.

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.

People & Passages

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Jaimie Sumner, PPP Operations Coordinator

Please welcome Jaimie Sumner as PPP’s Operations Coordinator. Jaimie started with us mid-March 2020, and after only two days on the job, we had to begin COVID-19 remote work placements. Despite this challenge, Jaimie has quickly become indispensable to our Team, and has risen to the task of helping with our annual September One Wave Gathering, plus fundraising for our Pacific Resilience Fund and supporting our communications. Jaimie worked previously for Habitat for Humanity as a manager of a Restore and has a background in utilizing the arts to build intercultural understanding and solidarity. See Jaimie’s full profile under Team on the PPP website.

There has been another unexplained death of a fishing observer in the South Pacific. PPP is deeply saddened by the death of Eritara Aati Kaierua. He left the island of Pohnpei, Micronesia to work as a fishing observer on a Taiwanese tuna purse seiner heading south, and died mysteriously about five weeks later while on board the ship. The father-of-four is the tenth Pacific fisheries observer to die on the lawless high seas in the last decade.  To learn more about how to protect these essential workers, check out these actions. 

45 moments over 45 years – Celebrating the 45th Anniversary of Pacific Peoples’ Partnership  

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Compiled by Andy Nystrom, PPP Volunteer Archivist and Researcher

Traditional Sepik Dugout canoe by A. Holbrook

Many years of our organization’s Tok Blong and Tok Blong Pasifik journals have captured numerous highlights between 1982 and 2015. To celebrate our 45th anniversary, here are 45 highlights from our years of work linking Canada and the South Pacific.

Please note: From 1975 to 2000, the organization was known as South Pacific Peoples’ Foundation (SPPF) and from then on as Pacific Peoples’ Partnership (PPP).

We hope you enjoy these 45 highlights!  We have linked to the online Tok Blong editions for each fact – please see page numbers for specific articles.

  1. Since 1982, Tok Blong Pasifik has featured a rich variety of “talk that belongs” to the Pacific: news, views, debates and insights. Begun in a pre-internet, fledgling-independence, nuclear cold-war era, where communications among Pacific islands was prohibitively expensive and where North-South information flows were virtually non-existent, Tok Blong Pasifik filled a void not only for Northerners concerned about peoples of the region, but also for Pacific islanders curious to hear about neighbouring South Pacific nations. Vol 8 #2 Nov 2010 page 23.
  2. In 1982, SPPF organized a tour of British Columbia and Alberta for Sinisia Taumoepeau, an artist from Tonga. The tour helped to give SPPF’s work further exposure in BC and Alberta and showcased Taumoepeau’s work. #3 Winter 1982, page 2.
  3. We spoke with Rabhie Namaliu, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for Papua New Guinea, when he was in Victoria at the end of November 1983 to receive an honourary Doctors of Law degree from the University of Victoria. While in Victoria he was interviewed by Phil Esmonde, our first Executive Director, for Tok Blong. In the interview Namaliu discussed the plebiscites in the Trust Territories, independence for New Caledonia and Polynesia, a nuclear-free Pacific, Japanese multinationals in PNG, and the effects of mining on PNG’s economy. #7 Jan 1984, pages 13-16.
  4. In 1987 SPPF produced fact sheets on the Pacific on the topics of Tourism, Health, Population, and Fisheries. These original versions were compiled by Jay Gould with funding assistance from the Challenge ’87 summer works program. #21 Nov 1987 pages 10, 14; pages 11-14 are the health sheet.
  5. In 1988 SPPF produced postcards criticizing French nuclear testing in French Polynesia, which got a response from Guy Azais, Charge d’Affaires in December of that year. The following January, Phil Esmonde responded, pointing out that all Pacific governments had asked France to stop testing in the Pacific, and suggesting that if France is correct that there are no health or environmental effects from the nuclear testing, they should welcome an independent investigation on the effects of nuclear testing on the health and environment of French Polynesia. #27 April 1989 pages 17-18.
  6. A partnership with Project Canada Pacifique in Montreal led to French versions of Tok Blong. #30 Jan 1990 page 2. Check out the January and May French editions from 1991!
  7. A crew of SPPF supporters formed a team in the 3rd annual Save the Strait Marathon (August 22). Traversing 29 kilometres of Georgia Strait from the mainland to Vancouver Island by kayak, the intrepid band of six raised $1,538 in support of SPPF projects and Save Georgia Strait Alliance environmental programs. #40 Aug 1992 page 2.
    Traditional Coast Salish dugout canoe with Teddy Balangu. by A. Holbrook
  8. SPPF’s revised mission statement in 1992 was to promote increased understanding of social justice, environment, development, health and other issues of importance to the people of the Pacific Islands; and to supporting equitable, environmentally sustainable development and social justice in the region. #40 Aug 1992 page 10.
  9. From 1991-1993, SPPF and the Sierra Club of Western Canada co-sponsored the Indonesia-Canada Rese postage and harch Project, which examined the Canadian presence in Indonesia, particularly West Papua/lrian Jaya, and the impact of this presence on the indigenous Papuan people and environment. #43 May 1993 page 2.
  10. 1994’s “Land is the Heart of the People” conference drew 100 people, including 10 Pacific Is-landers and 30 First Nations people. Several Pacific Islanders and First Nations people, including local Cowichan people, contributed to the program. The result was a conference more shaped by Indigenous perspectives than in the past. #47 May 1994 page 2.
  11. In 1996, SPPF hosted 3 Pacific youth on temporary volunteer placements. All three (Fredlyn Nako of Vanuatu, Faye Nuakona of Papua New Guinea, and Eroni Rakuita of Fiji) were students at Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific and were interviewed for Tok Blong. Vol. 50 #2 Jun 1996 pages 1, 8-10, 12, 15.
  12. The growing concerns of Indigenous Peoples in the Pacific and Canada about the critical issues surrounding intellectual property rights and patent law, and the threats they bring to the traditional knowledge and culture of Indigenous Peoples, motivated SPPF to choose the theme “Our Knowledge, Our Rights: Traditional Knowledge and Pacific Peoples” for its 15th annual Pacific Networking Conference. Vol. 52 #4 Dec 1998-Feb 1999, page 5-6.
  13. On February 18, 2000 SPPF became PPP – Pacific Peoples’ Partnership. The new name was intended to better reflect the nature of our work and to distinguish PPP from other organisations working in the Pacific. Vol. 53 #4 December 1999 page 2.
  14. After a tidal wave hit Papua New Guinea in 1998, PPP members donated more than $6,000 to the Catholic Diocese of Aitape’s tidal wave relief effort. Vol. 54 #3, 2000, page 15.
  15. To celebrate PPP’s 25th anniversary, a cultural evening was held during the Pacific Networking Conference May, 2000. The evening celebrated the diversity of the participants and included performances by local First Nations, visiting South Pacific Islanders, and the Victoria and Vancouver expatriate Pacific community. It was held at the Lau Wel New Tribal School, Tsartlip Reserve in Saanich. Vol. 54 #3, 2000, page 16
    PPP Produced Hailans to Ailans Cultural Sharing 2009 by A Holbrook
  16. In 2000, prominent travel book writer David Stanley praised PPP, calling it “North America’s leading advocate for the inhabitants of a third of the earth’s surface. May the voices echo and the waves unite the goals and aspirations we all share.”
  17. In 2003, the Canadian Council for International Cooperation pulled together a reference group on public engagement for the first time. PPP was one of 10 members of this policy forum whose primary goals include exploring ways the community can work together to strengthen our educational work, articulate a common vision for engaging Canadians in development issues internationally, and determine how best to measure and build on the results of previous efforts. Vol. 1 #1 Spr 2003 page 5.
  18. The Indigenous Peoples’ Abroad Program (IPAP) provided opportunities for young professionals from Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities to engage directly in sustainable development initiatives, sharing skills, knowledge and cultural perspectives with Indigenous counterparts in the Small Island Developing States of the Pacific. Vol 8 #2 Nov 2010 pages 7, 22. The following items (18 – 32) are from the same issue.
  19. After Cyclone Isaac hit Tonga, SPPF fundraised throughout 1982-1983 to assist in rebuilding Tonga. SPPF fundraising, supplemented by a three-to-one CIDA matching grant, resulted in more than $40,000 in reconstruction support to Tongan communities in 11 islands of the isolated Ha’apai Group. Vol 8 #2 Nov 2010 page 20.
  20. As part of the Marasim Meri Program (1987-1992), SPPF was a primary fundraiser, with CIDA matching funds three to one. Maprik Hospital partnered with the Maprik Women’s Association to select respected women from remote villages, train them in basic health, and provide them a dependable supply of basic medicines. Vol 8 #2 Nov 2010 page 20.
  21. In 1994, SPPF supported fundraising by the PNG Integral Human Development Trust, which created a new cadre of literacy trainers and co-coordinators. Vol 8 #2 Nov 2010 page 20.
  22. In 1997, SPPF’s network set out to ensure that Pacific Islanders were not marginalized during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit and APEC Parallel Conference, a gathering of civil-society hosted in Canada. The Pacific Networking Conference of that year was strategically timed so that Pacific Islanders attending the conference could also participate in the APEC Parallel Conference. Vol 8 #2 Nov 2010 page 21.
  23. From 1997-2001, the Ecowoman project grew from the determination of Pacific women to promote sound eco-friendly science at the grassroots level. Project leadership came from the South Pacific Action Committee for Human Ecology & Environment (SPACHEE), a collective of women in science and technology, representing traditional methods and modern approaches. By working together, they were determined to have urban-rural collaboration that improved their lives and protected their environment. CIDA contributed $100,000 and the SPACHEE-PPP partnership provided $60,000 in cash and in-kind contributions. Vol 8 #2 Nov 2010 page 21.
  24. The Canada-South Pacific Ocean Development Programme (CSPOD) (1997-2004) was the largest Canadian development initiative in the Pacific Islands. PPP partnered on this 14-year $28-million CIDA project which started in 1988. CSPOD increased the capacity of regional institutions to manage and South Pacific marine resources. Vol 8 #2 Nov 2010 page 21.
  25. From 1998-2003, the WAINIMATE support project combined preservation and enhancement of traditional science-based knowledge with forest and environmental protection. It forged links with Canadian First Nation traditional medicine practitioners through exchanges that included workshops on governance, intellectual property rights and biodiversity conservation. Vol 8 #2 Nov 2010 page 21.
  26. The Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Science and Sustainable Development Project (IPSP) (1999-2000) focused on cultivating exchanges and linkages between Canadian and Pacific Island Indigenous peoples for mutual problem-solving. A series of reciprocal visits, tours and discussion forums were held jointly by Canadian First Nations and Pacific Islander groups. Vol 8 #2 Nov 2010 page 22.
  27. Indigenous youth-to-youth activities (2001): This CIDA-funded project provided four venues for youth: a tour in Canada’s Northwest and the South Pacific, workshops on Vancouver Island and in Kelowna, cultural evenings, and publication of a youth issue of Tok Blong Pasifik. Vol 8 #2 Nov 2010 page 22.
  28. Speaking Out: Indigenous Media Talks Development – In 2003, PPP organized a program to send three prominent Indigenous journalists to Fiji and Vanuatu for a three-week tour. This was intended so that Indigenous people from Canada could examine the commonalities of experience among Indigenous peoples in Canada and the South Pacific and gain a deeper understanding of how communities are addressing challenges creatively. Vol 8 #2 Nov 2010 page 22.
  29. From 1996-1998, SPPF and CUSO co-sponsored a Canadian occupational therapist to work for two years with the Vanuatu Society for Disabled Persons (VSDP). Vol 8 #2 Nov 2010 page 20
  30. Fair Trade: Bad Business or Global Prosperity? (2004-2005) – This public engagement initiative, which included the educational resource kit “Trade My Way”, saw PPP conduct a series of consultations about trade and values with a diverse cross-section of people in 15 different communities across British Columbia. Vol 8 #2 Nov 2010 page 22.
  31. Shifting Tides: Indigenous responses to global climate change (2007) was conceived to raise awareness of the impacts of climate change on Indigenous communities in Canada and in the South Pacific. In November 2007, an international delegation of Canadian Aboriginal and Cook Islands Maori Elders, Youth, and Scientists took part in a month-long tour that involved visits to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands and various cities in Canada, including Victoria, The Cowichan Valley, and Vancouver, BC; Winnipeg, MB; Ottawa, ON; and Iqaluit, NU. It was delivered in collaboration with the Kouto Nui council of traditional leaders in the Cook Islands with sponsorship from CIDA and additional financial support from IDRC, the Mountain Equipment Co-op, BC Hydro, Canadian North, The British Columbia Council for International Cooperation, the United Church of Canada and the Anglican Church of Canada. Vol 8 #2 Nov 2010 page 22
  32. Pacific Promises: A Story from the Leaders of Tomorrow (2008) was originally published as a special edition of Tok Blong Pasifik in 2008. The children’s book, funded by CIDA and Mountain Equipment Co-op was written by Stephanie Peter and Deyna Marsh with illustrations by Natalie Christensen.  The writers were participants in past PPP youth projects and were inspired to write this book about the impact of climate change on the social, cultural and economic well-being of Pacific island Indigenous peoples in the South and North Pacific. Vol 8 #2 Nov 2010 page 22.
  33. From 2009-2012 Papua: Land of Peace: Civil Society Leadership in Conflict Transformation (PLP), funded by CIDA harnessed rights-based approaches toward integrating capacity strengthening and education around sustainable livelihoods, Indigenous rights, HIV/AIDS prevention, and violence against women. Dec 2015 page 4.
  34. The Phil Esmonde Legacy Fund, in remembrance of SPPF’s first Executive Director, was started in 2011 as a way for donors to support PPP’s continuing mission of supporting the aspirations of South Pacific Islanders and Indigenous peoples. Dec 2015 page 4.
  35. In 2012, a Special Edition of Tok Blong Pasifik called Raven and Paradise explored the alternate biospheres of West Papua, Indonesia and the Coast Salish territories of Canada. It included illustrations by children from both Coast Salish and West Papuan communities as well as the skilled work of T’Sou-ke Nation artist Mark Gauti and the literary talent of Jen Jorgensen. This storybook was also produced in Indonesian. Dec 2015 page 5.                                 
    The late Dan Lepsoe and Elaine Monds evaluating a Sepik River carving.
  36. After volunteer Dan Lepsoe passed away in 2013, PPP created the Dan Lepsoe Chisel Fund to assist carvers in the Sepik region in the purchase of new chisels. Dec 2015 page 18. 
  37. With the Indigenous-Led HIV Prevention Strategy for Tanah Papua (2013-2015), PPP, the University of Calgary, and our partners in West Papua initiated collaborative research to examine effective HIV prevention and treatment among Indigenous mothers. Dec 2015 page 5.
  38. At the 22nd Pacific Networking Conference: ‘Rising Tides: Our Lands, Our Waters, Our Peoples’ in September 2015, participants examined issues such as reclaiming of traditional knowledge, land stewardship, Indigenous governance, environmental sustainability, and Indigenous solidarity. Three days of the conference were spent with our Coast Salish Tsartlip, T’So-uke and Songhees partners. Dec 2015 page 12.
  39. The Pacific Voices X-Change (PVX) Indigenous Youth Artist Residency was held from August 10 to 21, 2015, providing ten Indigenous Youth from ages 15-30 with the opportunity to grow their creative voice, skills, and art practices in a two-week intensive training day-program. Youth were guided with the knowledge and insight of main mentor Janet Marie Rogers, as well as a diverse lineup of artist mentors and Coast Salish territorial guides. Through the exploration of creative writing, photography, song writing, audio recording, poetry and more, the youth created works that express very diverse insights and perspectives. Dec. 2015 page 22-23.
  40. In February of 2016, the strongest and costliest cyclone in the history of the South Pacific of the time, Cyclone Winston swept across Queensland, Tonga, Vanuatu, Niue, and Fiji. Tropical Cyclone Winston illustrated the widespread damage an extreme climate event can inflict upon island nations. Together with a variety of donors, including the local Pacific Islander community of the Victoria area, Pacific Peoples’ Partnership raised $15,000 for rebuilding Loreto Catholic School. The funding was channelled through the Pacific Resilience Fund, a flexible funding mechanism designed to promote medium term resiliency programming in communities as a supplement to the short-term disaster relief system. News, August 30, 2017 http://
  41. RedTide: International Indigenous Climate Action Summit, May 2018, was hosted in the Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, a Māori iwi located in the eastern Bay of Plenty and East Coast regions of New Zealand’s North Island. At this gathering, Indigenous scholars, activists, knowledge keepers and artists from around the world connected and shared stories and knowledge about climate change and resilience.
  42. FrancOcéan Pacifique connected British Columbia and New Caledonia youth via a collaborative, interactive ocean study program, which included educational booklets, exchanging of Indigenous knowledge, and preparatory worksheets and videos. In support of these educational activities, a website was created to promote and to prepare the youth for the central events: the live dives.
    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, June 2019.
  43. In 2017, PPP’s 10th annual Pacific & Indigenous arts and culture event One Wave Gathering was marked by a unique symbolic installation: the Longhouse Project. Under the direction of Nuu-chah-nulth artist Hjalmer Wenstob, four First Nations and Maori youth were selected to design art for the façades of the temporary longhouses. The houses were created in the styles of the Coast Salish, Kwakwaka’wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, and South Pacific Islands respectively. Inside each longhouse, community members from each area created welcoming and educational interactive spaces for the public. Situated with permission at the BC Legislature, it was the first time in many generations that four longhouses stood on this former traditional Lekwungen village site.   The Longhouses were raised again at the Women Deliver Conference in Vancouver in June 2019 as centres for dialogues.
  44. In October 2019, as Indonesian state violence mounted against protesters in West Papua, concerned Canadians including PPP called for pressure on the Indonesian government to halt repression and take steps against racism in the Pacific Island region.
  45. The measles outbreak in Samoa in late 2019 hit close to home for PPP’s President Muavae Va’a, who grew up in Samoa. Through the Pacific Resilience Fund, PPP raised collected donations to support affected families and health care workers. In January 2020, Muavae traveled to hear stories from affected families, identify ways we could help, and provide support. One of the ways he and partners identified to help was purchasing a new washing machine, dryer and boiler for Lalomanu village hospital, which took pressure off hard-working nurses who were washing all hospital linens by hand.

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

by

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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