Rai Coast women celebrate projects

COMMUNITY

By JAMES G KILA
A SMALL but significant occasion livened up the atmosphere at Bauri hamlet in the Astrolabe Bay LLG of Rai Coast district, Madang on Thursday, June 10. The community joined hands in prayer to dedicate and launch two agri-business projects established by the women in the rural setting.
The women have set the pace in utilising their royalty development grant received from the Ramu nickel/cobalt project to establish a village trade store and poultry shed as tangible businesses to improve their quality of life.
Bauri is a little known community in ward 14 of Astrolabe Bay LLG and is obscurely tucked away in the jungles between Rai Coast, Usino-Bundi and Madang districts. Since it is at a remote border area near three district boundaries little attention is given by successive elected political leaders over the years after PNG’s independence. The community has been neglected and denied most basic government services
The women admitted that they did not expect a journalist or any important guests from outside to set foot in their area because it was very little known and politicians from Rai Coasts over the years paid them little attention.
The Bauri Mama Group is part of the Marika Zone which come under the Coastal Pipeline Women’s Association.
Last year the women’s group was given over K5,000 from the CPLWA’s one per cent development grant from the Ramu NiCo Project. From the grant the Bauri

Mama Group identified trade store and poultry project which they successful established.
Guests at the launching included the executives of the Coastal Pipeline Women’s Association, Ruth Kamai, Catherine Munia, Miriam David and Tinna Parara. They were accompanied by Samuel Masawa, a Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) field extension officer.
Masawa was given the honour by the Bauri community to cut the ribbon signifying the launching of the two projects
The CPLWA executives were so impressed with the initiative taken by the Bauri women’s group in establishing the two community projects.
Chairlady of the CPLWA, Ruth Kamai explained to the Bauri community that the royalty assistance to the women’s association had made significant changes for the women in the Astrolabe Bay LLG.
“What you are witnessing today is not from the MP for Rai Coast; it is the royalty to the Coastal Pipeline Women’s Association from the Ramu NiCo project,
“You must be happy that since Ramu NiCo project set foot in Madang province its assistance through royalties and land use and compensation had made significant change to the lifestyle of the people in the impacted communities in Kurumbukari, Inland Pipeline, Coastal Pipeline and Basamuk impact areas,” she said.
Kamai added that there had been an increase in macro enterprises managed by women in the Astrolabe Bay LLG since 2019 after the women received one per cent royalty grant from the Ramu NiCo mining project.

She clarified CPLWA has three zones which included Marika, Bugati and Siroi, therefore, from initial allocation each of the zones received K60,000 for their small agri-business projects in their community.
Baure women’s group is one recipients in the Marika zone, and the second to launch its project after Uya, which in 2000 witnessed the opening of a community trade store.
CPLWA treasurer Tinna Parara congratulated the women and the community generally for their submission to the elders and church leaders.
“When young men and women submit to their elders and church leaders in the community then that goes to show that you are paving way for positive change to take place to improve your community livelihood,” Parara said.
Masawa, who is an agriculture field officer in the Inland Pipeline area of the Ramu NiCo project congratulated the women for their the initiative to establish two projects to benefit their community and encouraged them to look after them so that there is sustainability and growth.
He added that Ramu NiCo Community Affairs (CA) department’s Gender and Agriculture section’s development initiatives incorporated wider participation and income generation concepts. Furthermore, regular communication between the women and and development stakeholders should be encouraged and maintained positively, he said.
Kama in her concluding remarks thanked the Ramu NiCo CA department’s Gender and Agriculture section for its on-going assistance and technical advice and assured the development stakeholders including the landowner associations, MRA and MCC that they were focused on making positive differences in the lives of their vulnerable women and girls.

• James Kila is a supervisor with the Corporate Affairs Department of Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) Ltd in Madang.