Hako Women’s Collective

Papua New Guinea Bougainville
2019 - Current
Hako Women’s Collective is an umbrella organisation for all women in the Hako community in Buka and begun its work June 2006 with 650 women coming together seeking collective solutions to the problems they faced. They are committed to providing education and income generation opportunities, improving health and advocating for the rights of women and children.

The Hako Women’s Collective is based in the Buka District of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. Together, Hako and indigo are committed to staff a community resource centre that includes a Safe House for women and children fleeing family and sexual violence, as well as opportunities for learning and the development of healthy, informed and peaceful families and communities in this remote region of Bougainville.

The women and children of Bougainville were caught in brutal and protracted civil conflict between 1988 and 1998. Whilst a peace agreement and the granting of autonomous status by the Government of Papua New Guinea brought some stability to the region by 2005, many development and social justice challenges have remained. Communities in the Hako area experience high levels of family and sexual violence, and struggle to sustain themselves through share cropping.

Health, water and sanitation services and access to formal jobs are extremely limited and there has been little investment in infrastructure such as roads. What little income that is brought into a family is spent on getting through to the next day. Women and their children are most affected by these problems.

Current Activities

The partnership now includes support for:

  • Staffing and operating costs for the Safe House
  • Urgent and ongoing infrastructure improvements to ensure the Safe House is safe, secure and welcoming for clients
  • Construction and launch of the ‘Men’s Hub’ program to provide counselling and support to men who are either perpetrators or victims of violence
  • Continued operation and growth of Hako’s library and literacy program
  • Targeted programs to build women’s skills, leadership and economic independence
  • A rooftop solar system supplying electricity to operate equipment such as sewing machines and a fridge, and providing light for students and adults to study and interact in the evenings.

Partnership Coordinator

Jenny Clement