We will use an existing building to serve as the Community Hub. The building was originally constructed for the Bula community by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through its AusAid Program. It was purposely designed with a corrugated iron roof and cement flooring, and left without walls to function as a water catchment system.
I have secured agreement from the Bula community elders, and the building will now also be used to house laptops, a freezer, sewing machines, lighting, tables, chairs, and Wi-Fi that will provide coverage throughout Bula Village. This new purpose will complement its existing role as a water catchment system.
To support its expanded use, walls will be constructed around the building, and the interior will be partitioned into areas for computer-based and instructor-led learning, women’s sewing activities and business management, and cold storage using the freezer.
Construction of the walls will be carried out using lumber sourced from nearby forests. In Papua New Guinea, land and forest resources are traditionally owned by local families and clans. As part of our community engagement approach and to ensure mutual benefit, we propose a 50/50 sharing model: landowners will provide the trees, and ISTOI will supply milling services by renting a local sawmill. The processed timber will be equally shared, with 50 percent allocated to our project and the remaining 50 percent returned to the landowners, enabling them to use it for building improved homes or sell for income.
The sawmill will be rented at a daily rate of $500 and will be operated over five days for a total rental cost of $2,500. We are budgeting another $500 for travel and miscellaneous expenses.
Thank you!
Hi, I’m Nawi Mabo, the Project Leader for Innovative Solutions to Overcome Inequality.
Our mission is to bridge societal divides, empower communities, and advance inclusive, equitable growth across Papua New Guinea.
By bringing technology to rural villages, we will unlock the potential of women and girls—empowering them to learn, lead, and transform their futures as students, entrepreneurs, and change-makers.
For Me, this Mission is Deeply Personal
As a man from Papua New Guinea, I come from a culture where supporting women—especially in the open—can be viewed as a challenge to traditional values or even perceived as a sign of weakness. But I believe real strength is about standing up for what’s right, even when it goes against tradition. That’s why I’ve chosen to volunteer, lead Innovative Solutions to Overcome Inequality, and launch this crowdfunding campaign. It’s about more than raising funds—it’s also to challenge outdated beliefs and help inspire a new way forward free from gender inequality and discrimination.
Where Women and Girls are Today
According to a recent United Nations Development Programme report, Papua New Guinea (PNG) ranks among the lowest in the world for equality.
- The Gender Inequality Index score of 0.741 places PNG 161st out of 170 countries.
- Women and girls face significant barriers to accessing education. According to UNICEF, only 47% of girls attend primary school, and 17% attend secondary school.
- Women are underrepresented in PNG's political system. In the 2022 national election, only three of the 111 seats in parliament were held by women, representing just 2.7% of the total seats.
These inequalities are more than just statistics. They show up daily in the lives of women and girls who are denied opportunities, silenced by discrimination, and hindered from access to basic tools for growth.
Meet Bula Village
Our first community to support is last-mile Bula Village. With an estimated population of 650, the citizenship is approximately 225 women and 195 girls and boys. This extremely remote community has no electricity and is cut-off from outside communication. The nearest village with cell service is Mari Village, two hours away by boat. Mari Village also doesn’t have electricity and the cell tower provider maintains the generator. Travel between Bula and Mari villages occurs on average once a week.
Located six hours by boat from Bula Village is Daru Town, the provincial capital. With a population of over 15,000, Daru is the main hub for buying and selling goods. Also upstream from Bula, about four hours away, is Morehead Station, which has recently experienced notable development and is becoming a safer and more attractive market. Occasionally, fish traders visit Bula, but travel by locals to Daru and Morehead occurs on average once a month.
With such isolation, education beyond the basics is a challenge for both girls and boys, and it’s difficult for women to run small businesses, as travel to Daru and Morehead is so rare. Additionally, at this time, women in Bula Village lack the means to produce goods that can be sold in the town markets or to the visiting fish traders.
With minimal light, children of Bula Village doing
schoolwork. | 
Inside the Community Hub with water storage cisterns in the
background, women look at photographs. |
Together, Let’s Change this Unjust Reality
The Bula Village project has three components.
- Community Hub - In partnership with residents, we will harvest local lumber, mill, and install exterior and interior walls for youth education, women to become entrepreneurs, and house infrastructure items and supplies.
- Infrastructure - Procure and install solar power stations for electricity and satellite internet.
- Supplies - Purchase essential items to support education, business entrepreneurship, and health, such as laptops, chairs, sewing machines, and a freezer.
With your support, together we will unlock doors to education, entrepreneurship, and independence—especially for women and girls who are too often left behind.
To learn more about each component, click the links below.
Please Partner with Innovative Solutions to Overcome Inequality
My hope is that by personally stepping up, with your support I can encourage other men in PNG to do the same—to see that empowering women doesn’t take anything away from us as men. In fact, it enriches our families, our communities, and our country. When women and girls rise, we all rise. I hope you will join me.
To our friends and supporters around the world: by donating to this campaign, you’re helping to provide life-changing resources to women and girls—and you’re also fueling a cultural shift. You’re standing with me and with every man who dares to believe that equality is worth fighting for. Together, we can spark a movement—one that starts in the most remote corners of Papua New Guinea, and echoes far beyond.
Please consider a one-time or monthly donation. While all donations are greatly appreciated, your monthly gift will allow us to plan and budget for larger expenditures. For U.S. donors, your gift is tax-deductible. All funds are received and managed by our U.S. partner, Humanitarian Social Innovations, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN 46-4779591.
Also please rally your community and spread the word via email, social media and word of mouth. Together, we can do this!
