Holy Trinity Westcott has, for many years, supported the amazing work of Papua Partners, who have been walking alongside indigenous people in West Papua, since being founded here in Westcott in 2006.  

Founders Naomi and Javier Sosa, who were married in Holy Trinity, lived and worked in West Papua for 11 years, training and helping to build capacity in the region, before relocating to Northern Ireland in 2019.  Naomi continues to work as CEO, supporting Papua Partners staff in West Papua, mentoring the partners and advocating for West Papua at international level.

West Papua - the Western half of the island of New Guinea - has been subjected to colonization by the Republic of Indonesia since the 1960s  and is currently in the grip of a humanitarian crisis, due to an ongoing conflict in many areas between the Army, Police and the West Papua National Liberation Army.  Indigenous West Papuans are caught in the middle and every day there are more reports from Partners of  indiscriminate use of torture and intimidation by Indonesian state forces, who continue to act with impunity under the guise of bringing peace to the region.

The land of West Papua forms part of the third largest tropical rainforest area in the world and is home to incredible biodiversity.  It is also rich in mineral resources.  This means that the region has become a hotspot for extractive industries, to feed the global demand for palm oil, gold and other resources.  This poses an acute threat to the forests and indigenous people.  Many fear that the ongoing conflict is being used as an excuse to make way for ongoing resource extraction.

Eneko Bahabol, Peace and Justice Coordinator for Papua Partners, said “We’ve learned of women, children and high school students being arrested and tortured by the Indonesian military, of villages being raised to the ground, and of multiple innocent civilians being executed without trial.  This is causing men, women and children to abandon their lives and communities and flee to the forest and other towns for safety.”

There are now over 60,000 displaced people eking out an existence in the jungle.  Local, national and international humanitarian aid and media are blocked from operating in West Papua.

Papua Partners has recently started a project with the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) to improve the environment where they are living by building relationships with host communities and improve access to health and education.  They are also supporting people to develop sustainable businesses, to earn some income.

Elsewhere, Papua Partners are supporting the training of teachers for new schools and community business initiatives, run by women in Bokondini, which in turn support a basic community health clinic which opens once a week.

Pictured above are some of the Papua Partners team: Yepina, who trains women and men in stopping violence against women and church facilitators in community change; Javed, Director of long-standing partner Yasumat; Domi, the new Papua Partners coordinator in West Papua; Eneko, who works on Peace and Justice; and Hannah, an expert in Indigenous rights, who is helping part-time with fundraising and campaigning.

To donate to, or read more about, Papau Partners work please visit:

www.papuapartners.org