Powaseu fighting for inclusion

When she took to the podium at a United Nations summit in Morocco a few years ago, Ipul Powaseu had every reason to feel proud of how far she had come.
From her childhood in a small village in Manus, Powaseu was now addressing delegates from around the world about disability inclusion in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific.
That journey, from a remote island community to the international stage, seemed too big a dream for most people.
But Powaseu was not most people.
After contracting polio as an infant, Powaseu overcame physical and social barriers to complete her primary and secondary education, went on to attain bachelor’s and master’s degrees, the latter with a scholarship through the PNG-Australia partnership.
She established herself as a respected agricultural scientist in PNG.
While continuing her career, Powaseu held a number of disability leadership and advocacy roles, including appearances at international conferences such as the one in Morocco in 2016.
It was in one of those leadership roles – as inaugural president of PNG’s peak disability inclusion body, the Papua New Guinea assembly of disabled persons – that Powaseu realised she could go even further.
“I decided that as an advocate, I needed to seek further technical understanding about disability issues,” she said.
“I wanted to analyse the social policies in PNG and see where and what the barriers were and how we as people with disabilities can contribute to making the change we’re advocating for. That’s what prompted me to put in my application for a PhD.”