My name is Cathy Amaiu, I live in Port Moresby and do voluntarily work on Human Rights and most involves around violence against women and children.
You have children and women who run to you and you have to save them, I don’t do this because somebody tells me to do it but because I want to help them.
Its human nature, you want to help and that is what I have been doing in the community and in the church. I am a Seventh Day Adventist and I carry out my work lot of other women.
When the UN Women approached, they were looking for women leaders who are involved in the kind of activity I was doing. My friends recommended me and I got a few women to join the UN Women training. They trained us on human rights.
The training covered human rights, we learnt that there are laws that cover human rights and how to go about addressing violence when faced with the situation and how to help victims and where to take them too for safety and counseling.
They taught us many things and we were empowered. With the knowledge I gained through the training, I was in a better position to help people in need and provide them with a better solution.
I went far and beyond to extend my services in taking matters to court, where I came to realize that even some lawyers did not know where to go or what to do with matters of violence, that involved oppression and suppression among others.
Before the training sessions, our cohort of women would tend to survivors the best way we knew…But now since taking part in the UN Women-led trainings about referral pathways, it taught us also on how to treat the survivor and seclude them to a safe and conducive environment.
We then formed an association to help us better coordinate the activities we delivered, knowing well that it was the right thing to do. There were many women facing violence-related issues and we strived to extend help where needed.
Many women have realized the good work we are doing and have joined the Human Rights Defenders Association.
Meantime, I acquired more training to boost my work. I was trained as a Trainer of trainers to help train others. The most pervasive form of human rights abuse is violence against women and each person has a right to stand up against the crimes committed against them.
I am part of Human Rights team and with the rise in human rights violations in Enga Province, I want to do something about this.
The people are unsure of where to go and what to do about these problems, I asked Lydia Kitungi of Enga Sori Mama Association to meet with HRDA. With the network she has, it would help coordinate and resolve the matters at hand by training members of her association.
Enga may not be the easiest place for anyone to live in or go to but it is my people’s Jerusalem. We know it best ourselves, therefore this was a way to help our people and starting from home then moving out into other areas like Port Moresby.
Every household will be left with the necessary information they require from the trainings we will give to them regarding referral pathways and legal rights.
As the Bible says, “Lack of knowledge, people perish” and women are perishing daily.
SARV is real in Enga, I have had family members burnt alive because of this and no leader stands and no one does anything to prevent this from happening.
We need to step up in addressing these horrific acts of violence and I am fortunate that by divine providence, I am connected to these powerful and strong women. I am happy to say we are ready to get the ball rolling in getting things done.
I have worked in this space coordinately for five years and prior to that, I spent time trying to be an active member of society trying to make a difference.
My aim is to help my people in Enga in passing the knowledge I have gained in making women understand that their rights must not be violated and they be not subjected to abuse.