Papua New Guinea Melpa Women's Assocation
of South East Queensland Inc
Meri Wok Bung
About Us
About Us
We are a group of women from the Western Highlands and Jiwaka provinces of Papua New Guinea who reside in Southeast Qld. We are looking to organize ourselves in order to access opportunities and openings.
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Our membership is comprised primarily of women who are from the Western Highlands Province and Jiwaka Province who live in South East Queensland. We understand that many of our members have families and therefore our families are also included in our membership.
The overall purpose and function of our new organization is to empower our memberships (and by extension their families) pursuit of self-realization. We have identified through anecdotal and demonstrative evidence that there is a need to create a culturally relevant one-stop-shop for our members and this group is an attempt to fulfill that need. There are perceived barriers to access of opportunities/services and we aim to also resolve those barriers through relevant programs.
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Our journey began in May June 2022, a small dinner meeting at the Maooz Restaurant in West End in Brisbane City. Six women met and said there was a need for our women to have an association. A bigger meeting was held later in October where an open invitation was sent out to all women in SEQ from Western Highlands and Jiwaka province. The question was put to the ladies of the need of an association and the pros and cons of it. The video of that meeting can be found here.
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Our first AGM was held a month later in November and our first executives were voted in and our committee members were chosen. We now have a projects team and a fundraising team. The video of our AGM can be found here.
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Our members reside in Ipswich, Lockyer Valley and the Brisbane area. Some of our members have come here on humanitarian visas escaping domestic violence. A few have managed to come here with their children, and many have not been able to bring their children with them. They are all amazing, strong and beautiful Papua New Guinean women who are trying to start a new life despite their harrowing stories from the past.
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We recently signed our first office lease at the YMCA, Ipswich. We will be trialing out the office space to see if it does add any value to our organization. The data that we collect from these three months will inform us of the value of having a common space where the women can come to for help or just to have a safe space to go to.
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We look forward to serving our members and their families in reaching their goals.
Our Team
Our Team
Our Executives
Merolyn Kuie
President
Merolyn is from Jiwaka. She is self employed and is a mother of four children.
Wendy Komoti
Vice President
Wendy is from Western Highlands. She has a small shop in Gatton and has two daughters.
Elizabeth Kup
Treasurer
Elle is from Western Highlands. Elle has a Master's in economics from the University of Singapore. She is a mother of three children.
Leesa Timbi
Interim Secretary
Leesa is from Western Highlands. She has a degree in Community Development and is the founder of PNGWASEQ. She is a mother of four children.
Our Projects Team
Brenda Cangah
Projects Officer
Brendah is from Western Highlands. She is currently doing her PhD at UQ. She is writing a few children's books and is a published researcher.
Elizabeth Kup
Projects Team member
Elle is from Western Highlands. Elle has a Master's in economics from the University of Singapore. She is the mother of three children.
Alice Pakandi
Projects Team member
Alice is from Western Highlands. She runs her business out of Gatton and is the mother of two children.
Our Fundraising Team
Rose Francis
Fundraising Team
Rose is from Western highlands. She is a mother and a grandmother. She has is a cancer survivor and full of gratitude and zeal for life.
Jenny Kewa
Fundraising Team
Jenny is from Western Highlands. Jenny is an avid arts and crafts creator. She is full of fun and creative ideas.
Our Vision
Our vision is that every woman from WHP and JIWAKA living in SEQ will level up in terms of economic and social contribution to the Australian society. PNGWASEQ want our women to contribute to the Queensland economy and be active advocates for Social Change outcomes in their respective communities.
Our Mission
Our mission is to create holistic activities, programs and projects to empower our members in their self-realization pursuits.
Our Values
We respect every one’s personal journey and privacy, hard work is very important to our members, we put compassion, respect and sisterhood as core value that we aspire to as a group.
The mission, vision and values are evolving and PNGWASEQ will adjust according to the growth and need of the organization.
