By Jordon Becks- Project Officer, CUFA Bougainville
Meet Quelyne Topu, a 25-year-old woman from Eletupan district of the Haku constituency in Buka District, North Bougainville. Through CUFA’s Youth Village Training Program she has successfully started harvesting her very own two-hectare peanut plantation. CUFA runs this program as part of their Bougainville Youth Initiative (BYI), and is funded by the Australian Government.
Being a young mother, Quelyne has seen her fair share of hardships and struggles in trying to provide the basics needed to improve her family’s standard of living. The positive part of this story is; after CUFA’s initial training in Haku, Quelyne was enabled to start her new prospective private micro-enterprise activity.
Here’s how CUFA brought a positive change to Quelyne’s life:
Quelyne has started her own peanut plantation after she recognised the community’s demand for peanuts. This further pushed her to link-up to a micro- enterprising activity for addressing that need. In Quelyne’s words, “CUFA’s initial training that was conducted was sufficient in making me get off my back and start this new private micro-enterprise, which I would never be able to do otherwise”.
Quelyne also added, “I am confident that my micro-enterprise will be a success, thanks to the CUFA’s Bougainville Village Youth Training Program, and also knowing that my peanut seedlings are germinating as we speak right now”. She is a clear example of one of the many lives CUFA has touched, helping to strengthen and build the economic situation for the youth in Bougainville.
CUFA is proud to help implement these activities which are part of the Bougainville Youth Initiative . The Australian Government continues to provide support for the Bougainville Youth Initiative to encourage youth participation in Bougainville’s economic and social development. CUFA has worked extensively in the Pacific, with over 20 years’ experience in Papua New Guinea (PNG). During this time, CUFA has built a number of strong relationships with local civil society organisations which represent a number of industries across PNG.
Through these networks, CUFA will engage up to 10,000 youth between the ages of 15 to 25 in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville over two years
Contact us to learn more about our Bougainville Youth Initiative, and to discover know how you can help people like Quelyne fulfil their dreams.
“If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family (nation) “– Dr James Aggrey (Ghana)
Read more: Building pathways for youth in Bougainville
