Church leaders gather in Alotau for partnership forum

The country’s seven mainline churches gathered in Alotau this week with Australian non-governmental organisation counterparts and representatives of PNG and Australian governments for the 2017 Church Partnership Programme (CPP) forum.
The forum endorsed plans for the next phase of the CPP, which continues its focus on service delivery, while committing to greater engagement with government to improve programme outcomes.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference general secretary Fr Victor Roche said the churches were more united than ever before in their mission to bring services to rural areas to improve the lives of women and people living with disabilities.
“Any person in PNG knows the significant role that churches play in the development of rural and remote areas,” Roche said.
“So we want to be working with the Government, including at the decision-making level, on these important issues.”
CPP’s first two phases focused on grassroots service delivery, particularly in health and education, and strengthening the capacity of the churches to improve services on the ground.
Education and health will continue to be priorities in the third phase, along with a new focus on gender equity, social inclusion, disaster reduction and bringing peace and prosperity to areas in conflict. Church leaders’ council chairman and United Church of PNG moderator Rev Bernard Siai said the next phase of the partnership would involve a more collective approach to the nation’s development.
“Our struggle is always, how do we get these things right down to where the people are,” he said.
The CPP was established in 2004 under the Australian government’s development partnership with PNG recognising the churches role in service delivery.
Australian High Commission counsellor Brendan Peace paid tribute to the churches for their role in bringing development to everyday Papua New Guineans in the rural areas.
“The Australian government remains strongly committed to continuing our partnership with Papua New Guinea’s Government and churches in support of their development efforts,” he said.