A program, running in the local villages of five provinces, is building relationships between communities that have conflicts tethered throughout generations of history.
It was not the intention of the Positive Parenting Program which was rolled out by UNICEF and local partners to prevent the use of physical and verbal punishment towards children - a cultural norm in PNG.
But the program has given these conflicting communities something in common.
“I think it is the training that has brought us together,” says Lucy, 23, who is one of the more than 2,500 members of the Silku tribe. Lucy participated in the parenting program last year.
“I think it is the training that
has brought us together.”