Aviamp Mothers See Change

A member of the group with freshly harvested Mandarins.

“Even though we live on the highway, basic services have passed us by, however since the introduction of this project it has really helped the women a lot financially and has empowered them in the community,” Cecelia Kuman said.
Mrs. Kuman, who is the President of the Aviamp 2 Women’s Group in the South Waghi Anglimp District in Jiwaka Province, said this when explaining the changes seen in her community since the commencement of the ‘Agriculture Farming and Basic Book Keeping Training’ project.
She adds that the group underwent trainings conducted by the Fresh Produce Development Authority such as Vegetable Production and Financial Literacy which enabled them to have high quality crops to sell and at the same time know how to manage their finances.
“The training has helped us tremendously to achieve good quality crops when we plant and also we can now save and budget our money,” she said.
The ‘Agriculture Farming and Basic Book Keeping Training’ project is funded by the Australian Government through the Strongim Pipol Strongim Nesen Program at a total cost of K73,874.22.
Ellis Pora who is a member of the Women’s Group says since she joined she is now able to help her husband build a new semi-permanent house in the village, buy new items for her household and also pay for her children’s school fees.
She says from the income she gets in selling her vegetables and the skills she gained from the different trainings, she is now economically empowered to contribute effectively within her family and community as a whole.
“Laif bilong mi na ol femili bilong igat bikpela senis tru taim dispela projek ikam insait long ples, mi save ting bai mi ino inap lukim kain senis tasol nau mi lukim na mi hamamas nogut tru (My life and my family’s has drastically changed since the project started in the village, I thought I would never see such change but now I can see the difference and I am very happy.),” she said.
Mrs. Pora is one of more than 300 members whose lifestyles have changed in terms of time management, being self-reliant and more importantly contributing to the development of the community one way or another through this project.
Mrs. Kuman adds that a lot of women who have children out of wedlock, who have been deserted by their husbands, people living with disability and HIV/AIDS are also part of the group and it is very encouraging to see them take ownership of the project.
“We also invite our husbands and male youths in the community to take ownership of the project and so far they have shown tremendous interest,” she said.
She added that when the group has meetings they use this as an avenue to do awareness on social issues such as Child Protection, Domestic/Sexual Violence and HIV/AIDS.
Mrs. Kuman said the project is running smoothly with an increase in the production of fresh produce associated with the recent rains.