Women’s team supports displaced villagers

Did you know that, since 2018, a very large number of people in Papua have been forced to flee their homes? Human Rights Monitor refers to more than 105,000 IDPs — internally displaced persons — as of 1 January 2026. It is a cold term for people who have been uprooted, frightened and traumatised.

They have fled the violence between the army and armed resistance groups that has affected their villages. They have seen soldiers use their schools and church buildings as command posts, and their gardens destroyed. Many are seeking safety in the forest or in one of the many improvised camps spread across the region. Some have been there for years: unseen, unrecognised, with very limited access to food, clothing or medicine.

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In one of these displacement sites, nearly 3,000 people have been staying since 2021. Their villages, forests and gardens are not even very far away, but they are no longer accessible. It is too dangerous. The army and armed groups are hunting each other in the area. Soldiers, cameras and drones monitor the people in the makeshift camp. Meanwhile, the rainforest is being cleared to make way for large-scale palm oil plantations and mining.

A skilled and committed group of women is supporting the displaced families. On a modest scale, they organise psychosocial support and resilience training. This work needs to continue. But the most urgent need right now is for the displaced families to generate their own income.

The women have developed a thoughtful and practical plan. They want to involve farmers and fishers from the surrounding area in setting up a small distribution chain. This would supply one or more kiosks near the displacement site with fish, vegetables and other products. The income will help the women pay school fees for the children, provide medical and social support, and buy food.

But perhaps most importantly, this plan helps restore a sense of self-worth and human dignity among people who have had to leave everything behind and are living with deep uncertainty about their future.

To carry out this plan, €3,500 is needed. This amount will cover transport costs for supplying the kiosks — distances are long and access is difficult — as well as social training for the women and basic entrepreneurship education.

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