Papua New Guinea

PAPUA NEW GUINEA, situated on the world’s second-largest island in the Pacific Ocean, is famed for its rain, ruggedness, great beauty and diverse cultures.

Habitat for Humanity Papua New Guinea was formed in 1983 in Port Moresby, and then moved to Lae, the second-largest city. There are seven affiliates: four in the eastern Morobe province (Finschafen, Markham, Morobe and Nawaeb); one in Eastern Highlands province; one in East Sepik province and one in the Western Highlands. A new affiliate is also being proposed in Madang.

In developing Pacific Island nations, such as Papua New Guinea, indigenous communities own more than 80 per cent of the land. Hence, Habitat uses the Community Build housing microfinance model to involve an entire village or neighborhood in a house-building or renovation program. In Papua New Guinea where land and raw materials are owned by an entire village, and two or three families share one house, Community Build helps to leverage resources and reduce housing costs.

Habitat also uses the Save & Build housing microfinance model under which 10 to 12 families form a savings group to save for the cost of building houses and construction materials. Home partners are also expected to put in their own labor to build their own houses as well as those of others in the group. To date, more than 100 saving groups have been formed. Savings groups are also functioning in Lae as part of an official urban housing program.

A typical Habitat house is made of timber with a corrugated metal sheet roof. Due to heavy rains, the house is raised on stilts a meter or more off the ground to keep it dry. The area under the house is used for storage, community gatherings and livestock. Habitat encourages home partners to cut and mill their own timber from their own land. To ensure sustainability, Habitat has developed a reforestation project; two trees are planted for every tree used for a Habitat house.

Four types of Habitat houses are being built in Papua New Guinea. The first type, at 33 sq. m. in size, is a one-bedroom structure; a two-bedroom house is 37 sq. m. in size while a three or four-bedroom home is largest at 48 sq. m. The average monthly repayment per house is US$15.50 and the average mortgage period is 20 years. Under Save & Build, the average loan repayment period is up to five years.

Habitat’s work in Papua New Guinea is boosted by the partnerships with business corporations, non-profit agencies and churches. It counts OK Tedi Mining, Jersey Overseas Aid Commission, the Australian government’s Community Development Scheme, and the Lutheran Church among its partners.

HFH Papua New Guinea has also hosted several international volunteer teams. More than 25 Global Village teams from Australia, Japan and the United States have worked to build houses.

HABITAT HIGHLIGHTS

• From January 2009, local volunteers from New Ireland province, in the northeast of the country, have helped to build 10 houses under a project with the national telecom company Telikom in Lae and Madang.

• In October 2008, HFH Papua New Guinea started work on an Australian-funded integrated community development and housing project to build houses for at least 77 families in Walu, East Sepik. Partners included HFH Australia, the Julian Zahara Trust, Callan Services and the Roman Catholic archdiocese.

• In 2007, Habitat launched a 15-house project in Western Highlands which was jointly funded by the community and AusAID’s Community Development Scheme.

• In February 2006, the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission approved a GBP 41,436 grant (more than US$72,000) to build 50 houses in East Sepik province.

• Finschafen affiliate built four houses for health workers in a project with the Lutheran Church in 2005.

• Andrew Baing Vocational School students support annual builds with the Markham affiliate.

COUNTRY FACTS

Population: 6.0 million (July 2009 est.)

Capital: Port Moresby

Area: 462,840 sq. km.

Ethnic groups: Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian

Languages: Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by 5%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region

Religions: Roman Catholic 27%, Evangelical Lutheran 19.5%, United Church 11.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, Pentecostal 8.6%, Evangelical Alliance 5.2%, Anglican 3.2%, Baptist 2.5%, other

Updated: April 2009