The Community Development (CD) component works along the impact goal of the project, which is ‘Inclusive growth: Increased economic opportunities with better access to social services for members of marginalized maritime and river-based communities within the project affected area.’

Our main focus is to build capacity for communities to identify available resources and to take part in planning, initiating and implementing micro-scale projects that are directly linked to the new transport services. Our approach is participatory, mainstreaming gender balance and involving different government and non-government organisations in our activities.

We are serving more than 40 communities in different geographical areas (ESP, NIP, Huon/Oro, WENB) with a team of one international development and five national development specialists.

The programme of CD has two main components:

1. Conduct field research surveys along all franchise routes
2. Build capacity in target communities to improve standard of living

Field surveys were done to collect data for analysing transport behaviour of people along the routes, to identify dinghy prices for passengers and cargo and to collect baseline data on the socio-economic status of villagers.A questionnaire was designed for semi-structured interviews and translated into Pidgin.

Apart from individual interviews short community meetings were organised by the councillors, where the team could introduce itself and the purpose of the survey. The same time community members could express their opinion about the shipping service and do recommendations.

The team conducted surveys along the Huon/gulf coast, interviewed villagers along the south east coast of New Ireland Province and south coast from West and East New Britain. Alone in 18 communities 741 interviews were conducted. The main findings revealed that most villagers lack proper access to basic services like health and education but also to town markets due to high prices for water transport and irregular shipping services. The most effected groups are children and women being excluded from mobility to schools and opportunities for income generating.

CD also planned a set of training courses reflecting these findings; we invite villagers, men and women alike, from all ports of call. Our first courses targeted individuals and their entrepreneurial skills by improving their ‘Personal Viability’. We engaged Entrepreneurial Development Training Centre to conduct their personal viability training courses for all franchise routes. In 2010, 40 participants from 20 communities have successfully graduated. The training continues in 2011.

The second training set focuses on community mobilisation as part of reliable community development. Cooperation among community people is essential to develop the community’s self-sufficiency and self-reliance.

This course targets the community as a whole, its resources and human potentials. Participants will learn tools and methods to lead their communities in the process of identification of problems and resources, prioritisation of problems and different ways of solving their problems.

Targeted Outcomes of Training Provided is to contribute to peace building and social development by equal participation of different groups in the community, and to improve the capacity of individuals and communities to identify resources (human/technical) in and outside their communities. Also to empower individuals and groups to forming small projects for living standard improvement and to multiply income generating skills and planning capacities of community members through trained participants of the project arranged training workshops.

Gender involvement by the Project includes assistance to PNG Woman in Maritime Association. 

The Project was also involved in the Capitalization of the National Maritime Safety Authority to the tune of SDR930,000.00 ( K2.50 million). More information on the NMSA can be obtained from their website: www.nmsa.gov.pg