Rebecca (pictured above) is one of the many inspirational PNG women we celebrate on International Women’s Day – with its 2021 theme of Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.
After completing a Master’s in Disability Policy at Flinders University, Australia Awards scholar Rebecca Krai returned to Papua New Guinea just before the #COVID19 pandemic was declared.
Rebecca saw the opportunity to bring her new skills and knowledge to the Highlands, where she grew up.
“Through the Australia Awards Women’s Leadership Initiative, we were able to secure funding from the Australian Government to carry out COVID-19 awareness in the rural Mul-Baiyer District, Western Highlands Province,” Rebecca says.
“We covered four secondary schools with an estimated 700 to 1,000 people per school, and also provided personal protective equipment (PPE) to lower primary schools.
“Female students were trained as Peer Educators to do awareness in the schools while staff facilitated awareness in the District.”
Now working in disability inclusion with the PNG Australia Transition to Health (PATH) program, Rebecca hopes her story inspires the next generation of leaders.
“I want to see young women graduating out of school being goal-oriented and also achieving their dreams.”
Source: Australian High Commission Papua New Guinea Facebook page