CLIP is empowering women

“WHATEVER you do, be different – that was the advice my mother gave me, and I can’t think of a better advice for an entrepreneur. If you’re different, you will stand out and if you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito.” — Anita Roddick.
An empowering phrase by one of the world’s iconic women and a fitting description of the Hides women involved in a livelihood program, led by ExxonMobil PNG (EMPNG) Limited, operator of the PNG LNG in partnership with the ANU Enterprise (ANUE) a wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian National University.
Miriam Gai and Susie James Hulapa, from the Nogoli Women’s group in Hides, Hela are shining examples of women from humble backgrounds whose stories are reflections of Anita Roddick’s quote.
Miriam is a nurse by profession and Susie is a stay home mother and house wife, that was until she learnt of EMPNG’s Community Livelihood Improvement Project (CLIP). Both women are from EMPNG’s project area and have been provided an opportunity through CLIP to learn more about successfully running small businesses and improving their living using the available resources at their disposal.
“This program has really helped a lot of mothers from this area. The program not only helped improve my life as an individual, but it has also changed the mindset of our husbands and the sons in the Nogoli area in Hides,” says Miriam Gai.
She became involved in the CLIP to learn skills to generate income.
Like the other women in her group, Miriam has set up a small poultry business and income generated from her small business, as additional finance on-top of her salary, is going towards her family needs.
The Community Livelihood Improvement Project (CLIP) started in August 2015 and the CLIP team has been working with the local communities to promote the importance of planting a variety of crops to produce surplus as part of their food security planning.
The women, men and youth involved in this project have also been taught how to use local garden crops such as cassava and banana to bake cakes.
Setting up simple poultry facilities in their local community is another small enterprise which the women are involved in to earn income for their families.
The skills and knowledge gained by the local communities from the CLIP team is paying off in more ways than expected. The effect of this program to build sustainability has spilled over to the women’s spouses and children. Husbands and sons have seen the positive results of the program and are contributing by helping their wives and mothers by preparing with such chores as chopping wood for baking. As many participants expressed, this is creating a constructive and busy home that is self-sustaining and generating needed income.
The Community Livelihood Improvement Program is a partnership between EMPNG and the ANU Enterprise (ANUE).
ANUE manages the project implementation and EMPNG provides financial support.
CLIP Manager Michael Schultz from ANUE says:
“As far as progress in improving women’s lives through income generating activities, the group members are telling us that they are supplementing household incomes through these activities and the money is being used for education and family health needs. The women state that the men view this money as belonging to the women, to be controlled by the women as they have earned it through these activities”.
The project has seen a total of 19 women’s groups including the Nogoli group, involved in projects that fall under agriculture, food and nutrition, and hygiene. The project is unique in that it involves ongoing mentoring, on site coaching and training versus classroom or a short term training approach.
Susie, member of the Nogoli women’s group says:
“There will always be challenges along the way to distract a person from doing something good for themselves and their family but a willing and humble heart will continue to attract positive energy and prosperity.”
She says her husband’s support is her encouragement to continue on with what she is doing. Susan and Miriam are keen on getting other women in their area to be involved and become self-reliant because they believe such activities will lead to other opportunities and more empowerment for women.