Wantaim PNG is an Australian registered charity with OADGS status. All donations of $2 and above are issued a tax receipt. Tax receipts may be used by Australian donors to obtain a tax deduction (depends on personal circumstances).
Working together to thrive together
Our vision is for a strong and sustainable PNG where people are connected, productive and enjoy meaningful, good lives.
Our mission is to partner with communities, help mobilise local engagement and help them thrive. Together
We prioritise initiatives focused on two of the largest, voiceless groups in PNG: women and youth. In doing so we support families and entire communities. We target remote, rural communities where 85% of PNG people live.
The Wantaim PNG team spans Australia and PNG and includes our PNG projects team, a small support team based in Sydney and an Advisory Board.
While we depend on many in Australia and PNG, a few deserve special mention.
They are our family, our wantoks.
Sue Spencer & Pam Pritchard lead the Hamamas Meri support team of the Turramurra Rotary Club, backing up our PNG team and providing community outreach. Engaging a team of approximately 30 women from the Club and Sydney community they source and prepare materials for PNG women’s groups to sew and sell kits.
Initial training from Ryde Days For Girls Team Leader, Janelle Dodd, got us on the way.
Meeting each month for four hours at a time this group – known as the Turramurra Hamamas Meris - takes on preparatory tasks too difficult in village settings where just finding a suitable working space, tables and chairs can be challenging.
Their preparatory work supports their PNG sisters to focus on kit sewing and maximising kit sales and connects the two groups through friendship.
The group’s monthly working bees are valued over $68,000 however their impact is far greater: they are the backbone of the Hamamas Meri programme which today touches thousands of PNG lives through it’s health awareness sessions, sewing skills training and pathways to income.
Long before the ‘Pacific Step Up” and the “Pacific Pivot” became familiar terms, the Turramurra Hamamas Meris were already walking the talk.
Hamamas Meri….Because PNG women & girls shouldn’t be held back.
Management, students and friends of the Maria Molnar Bible Training School in Lugos provide invaluable support to several Wantaim PNG’s programmes.
During the recent completion of the Lap’lang Facility MMBTS students volunteered to source local sago and weave the sago walls.
In support of COVID-Soap, management approved Wantaim PNG’s use of a secure storage and packing space so that 133,000+ bars of soap could be labelled, packed and readied for handover to local level government representatives.
This major undertaking is repeated each two months and draws in support from management, students and their families alike.
In no small way their collective actions are contributing directly to keeping a province safe.
Canisius House and staff provide the warm, beautiful room that has become home for the monthly Turramurra Hamamas Meri working bees, a space making great things happen.
To learn more about the Archbold Room and other spaces and services offered by the wonderful team at Canisius House, check out
With their dedication to “causes that build international relationships, improve lives, and create a better world”, it was inevitable that the paths and Rotary and Wantaim PNG would cross.
Through our two core programmes - Hamamas Meri and Gudpela Sindaun - Wantaim PNG is directly targeting 4 of the 6 Rotary key areas of focus
9 Rotary Clubs across NSW, Qld and PNG back our programmes and - with an internationally mobile team and zoom! – we’re open to meeting more. So, no matter which part of the world you call home, if our work sounds of interest reach out today and let’s start a conversation.
We enjoy support of many experienced professional volunteers without whom Wantaim PNG could not operate.
A special thanks to all our sponsors.
With so many worthy causes to support, thank you for choosing our innovative community led programmes helping rural PNG communities thrive.