Out now – Our CEO, Lynne Shori, interviewed on ABC Conversations with Sarah Kanowski
Helping PNG Communities Thrive
Engage | Mobilise | Unite
Most Australians have flown over Papua New Guinea — an hour or two north of Cairns — on the way to somewhere else. Few ever land.
That’s an odd blind spot, given the shared history. Australia administered PNG until independence in 1975 — many Australian families have a parent or grandparent who lived and worked there. And in 1942, PNG played a decisive role in stopping the Japanese advance toward Australia: along the Kokoda Track, PNG carriers helped save the campaign.
That history has left deep, genuine goodwill between the two countries. What’s missing is genuine understanding of what life in PNG actually looks like today.
Since 2007, Wantaim PNG has worked with rural communities in Manus Province, Papua New Guinea. Wantaim means “together” in Tok Pisin. What began with our founder’s own return to Manus has grown into a province-wide operation — multiple programmes, run by a local team, reaching thousands of women, students and health workers across the region each year. Read more about our founder.
Our programmes — Hamamas Meri, Gudpela Sindaun, Illuminating Futures and First Aid 4 Youth — are designed with the communities we work in. In FY2025, 96% of every dollar donated went directly to them.
Most recently on Facebook:
OUR DETAILS
Bank: ANZ
Account name: Wantaim PNG Incorporated
BSB: 012 006
Account no: 227 447 114
ABN: 14 578 483 221
Bank: BSP
Branch Code: 088 943
Branch: Boroko Business Centre
Account no: 7026717160
Swift Code: BOSPPGPM
In Her Own Words: Annette on Hamamas Meri
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In Manus, a girl's period can still mean missing school.
Annette has watched that change. In this short clip, she shares what it means for girls in her community to receive Hamamas Meri kits — reusable, washable sanitary kits, made by local women.
"The girls can use these products and they can continue to be in class."
Skills. Not Charity.
As at June 2026: 2,352 people reached with health education. 54 women trained to sew kits. 11 communities and counting.
wantaimpng.org
#HamamasMeri #ManusWomen #PNGWomen #RemoteCommunities #GirlsEducation #PacificWomen #RuralFirst #WantaimPNG … See MoreSee Less
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66% There. One Boat Away From the Rest.
Most families in Manus live off the land and the sea. Subsistence farming, subsistence fishing — and little left over for something as simple as light.
When the sun goes down, homework stops. Some kids study by firelight. Most don’t study at all.
Working with Pihi Manus Association, Wantaim PNG has delivered more than 8,000 solar lights to 65 of Manus’s 95+ schools — 66% of the province, reached.
We want to deliver 4,000 more before the end of 2026, to stay on track for every school by mid-2027. Getting there means more trips like the one you’ve seen us make: two days, 118kms, one banana boat.
Our boat is seven years old and needs replacing.
Help us fuel the last mile — www.wantaimpng.org/donate/
wantaimpng.org
Hashtags: #WantaimPNG #ManusProvince #IlluminatingFutures #SolarBuddy #FuelTheLastMile #PihiManus #PNG #EveryoneOrNoOne #RuralEducation #GrassrootsChange … See MoreSee Less
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They Came for the Football. They Stayed for the Facts.
When vaccines arrived in PNG, so did the fear. Misinformation moved fast, and for many communities, there was no one they trusted to explain what was actually true.
So Wantaim PNG brought in Dr Gabriel Yohang — a Manus-born specialist rural GP and medical lecturer — to talk to his own communities in Tok Pisin, and in his tok ples, the language of his own village.
We ran a soccer tournament to get people there. It worked.
People turned up for the football, and left with real answers, from someone they already knew and trusted.
Because cutting through fear doesn’t take a campaign. It takes someone the community already believes.
wantaimpng.org
#WantaimPNG #ManusProvince #COVID19Response #VaccineConfidence #LocallyLed #PNG #CommunityTrust #TokPisin #PacificHealth #GrassrootsChange … See MoreSee Less
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