Things are moving

Early on Friday morning we took delivery of a battered but serviceable shipping container, currently parked at 142 Addison Road by kind permission of the Addison Road Community Centre. It's been a busy weekend moving in boxes of items for the Hako Women's Collective, Bougainville Women's Federation and a few others. The container was purchased for use by the Bougainville Women's Federation - once it has arrived in Bougainville and been unpacked, it will be very useful as a place for secure storage.

Our friends at Addison Road asked if we could put their logo on the shipping container, and we spent a busy and creative Sunday amongst the bustle of the markets, painting it on:

Shipping things to Bougainville

As you may know, we have a good collection of donated goods stored in Sydney, some of which has been waiting for a long time now for its journey to Bougainville, where it will be used for projects by HWC and BWF, including the village kindergartens. Many thanks to all the people and organisations who have donated goods and money or provided other assistance. We are truly grateful.

An especially big thank you to NSW Parliament, which is twinned with the Bougainville Parliament. The fundraising screening of the film Mr Pip in December, organised by Simon Johnston (coordinator of the twinning project), was supported by many NSW Parliament staff and others, and raised over $1500. Funds now stand at $4730 - a great start, but we will need some more for transport costs.

Shipping things to somewhere as remote as Bougainville is a big undertaking, requiring tenacity and resourcefulness - but we are getting there. This Friday a shipping container will be arrive at the Addison Road complex in Marrickville. We are sharing it, and costs, with a few others. The Addison Road Community Centre has kindly agreed to have the container parked there until it is ready for shipping. If you're going to the markets on a Sunday, come and have a look, we may be there!

For the next two months things will be busy for the (very few) Sydney supporters and we would be very grateful for any help. So PLEASE contact us if you can help with any of the following:

• Cash donations - to help with transport costs and/or purchase of things that are needed but we can't get for free
• Office supplies and equipment - e.g. folders, paper, toner, lockable filing cabinets
• Items for the cafe (see previous post) - e.g. Kitchen Wizz, Juicer, Electric Mixer, Espresso Machine (not the ones that need little pre packed coffee pods), Hot Water Urn, Rice Cooker, Deep Fryer, Microwave
• Packing and labelling boxes
• Moving boxes
• Fundraising - and/or passing this on to your networks
• painting the container

A new Women's Centre in Buka Town

11 February 2014: posts going up on the new building. The roof of the market cane seen in the background.

HWC's parent organisation, the Bougainville Women's Federation (BWF)  has embarked on a pioneering project to build a Women's Centre in Buka Town, with funding from the PNG Commission of Law and Justice through the Autonomous Bougainville Government.

The project was devised to meet a number of pressing needs for:

• public facilities in Buka Town, such as public toilets, a safe place for women to sit down and rest, feed a baby, or change a nappy.
• a one-stop location for information, advice or support.
• space for community groups to hold meetings or run courses.
• a secure office space for BWF, paying its own way rather than relying on aid funding.

BWF approached the Buka Town Council for a place to build the Centre, and received great support, as the Council had also identified the need. A great location was found close to the market, and building has already begun, as you can see from the photo above.

The new building will hold office space, a reception area and information centre, toilets, meeting rooms and Buka's first cafe, which will also sell items such as postcards. The cafe, and renting of the meeting rooms, will provide income for ongoing costs and maintenance.

HWC strongly supports the centre, and will be closely involved in day-to-day running of the information centre and kiosk. The project will provide some much-needed services and community-building, and also a wonderful opportunity for women and girls to get work experience and develop business skills.

Click here for a list of the equipment they need. Many of the items are not obtainable in Buka!
If you are able to donate any of these items, or to donate money for the project, please contact us. The items don't need to be brand new, but we need them to be clean, undamaged, in good working order and suitable for heavy use.