Gender Equity 

By supporting different organisations which are working to develop community based options, we hope to assist women and children to access to their basic rights of health, education and security.  Within this programmatic area we are collaborating with organisations such as 

• Eastern Highlands Family Voice 

• Baua Baua Community Theatre Troupe, 

• UNICEF

• Goroka YWCA

• HELP Resources 

• National Agricultural Research Institute

• Habitat for Humanity

• Appropriate Technology Projects

• Eastern Highlands Department of Education

We support this work both programmatically (strategies to meet these challenges) and organisationally (organisational capacity) by:

• Cooperant Placement

• Dialogue/Networking

• Investigation & Research

Dialogue & Networking

An extensive number of agencies and individuals exist in the country that available to support community-based work.  Being aware of these resources, establishing contact with these organisations and promoting collaboration multiplies the impact of individual efforts.  Recent examples include:

• CUSO PNG/GDS collaboration to assist the Genoka Squatters Settlement to receive training by the highly regarded Baua Baua Theatre Troupe

• Initiative to explore impact of early education on children in remote villages CUSO/UNICEF

• CUSO/GDS Gender training materials review

Whether facilitating or running the workshop or training, CUSO's experience and expertise can be shared to develop more meaningful partnerships.

• Mainstreaming Gender Trainings for AT Projects which have been part of a process which has enabled AT to modify their Primary School water supply and Sanitation projects so that proper usage is encouraged through gender and even disability friendly design.

• What is Gender?  Why Does It Matter?  Training/Workshop for Save the Children's Partners meeting.

Investigation & Research

Efforts in PNG are often made in isolation yet they remain or they sit on the cutting edge of work in their field.  Disseminating these efforts to other organisations here in the country helps to develop a deeper pool of experience and understanding of what Papua New Guineans can do to assist women and children.  As well, supplementing this work with the experience from outside the country can infuse new ideas and reinforce the quality of the work being done through PNG's own solutions. 

• Articles to the Lik Lik Book

• Regular contributions to the DEV Network

• Networking with other agencies such as PNG Cultural Commission

Cooperant Placement

Sometimes, work around women and children's rights highlights the need for expertise not readily available in Papua New Guinea.  Often these skills are required across several organisations.  CUSO can recruit qualified people from Canada.  These people make available their experience for periods ranging from six months to two years or more.  Increasingly, CUSO is able to multiply the benefit of having these skills in the country by making them more widely available through collaborations with other agencies such as the German Development Service, the Community Development Scheme and World Wildlife Fund.

Current Placements within the Women and Children's Rights programme are:

Cooperant	Title	Organisation	Location	Placement Focus
Shelley Casey	Women and Children's Rights Officer	UNICEF	Port Moresby	Mainstreaming CEDAW & CRC
Stephen Douglas	Human Rights Coordinator	Family Voice	Goroka	Violence against Women
Miranda Ortiz de la Cajiga	Community Theatre Advisor	Madang Visitors & Cultural Centre	Madang	Popular Theatre to raise awareness of community issues