SOLAR INSTALLATIONS HELP SHINE A LIGHT IN MADANG PROVINCE

BRINGING solar power to the remote Rai Coast in Madang Province is no small feat. Navigating the undulating waters of Rai Coast via dinghy, you are struck by its natural beauty.
Untouched jungle, mountain peaks disappearing into the clouds, palm trees stretching over the water. The only signs of life are occasional pillars of smoke spiralling into the air above the treetops. But what makes Rai Coast’s remote beauty also brings unique challenges for service delivery to the district.
Through the Australian Government’s Pawarim Komuniti Partnerships (PKP) program, the Kokoda Track Foundation (KTF), an international development organisation with over two decades of experience in Papua New Guinea, is taking on the challenge of bringing transformative solar energy to Rai Coast communities.
KTF has commenced the distribution and installation of solar systems and street lights in Rai Coast.
Local installation teams will work alongside eight solar champions chosen from each village to help install over 12,100 household systems, 22 community facility systems and 777 streetlights across 157 remote villages, lighting up the lives of over 60,500 people.
Jeremiah Willas, the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer on KTF’s Rai Coast Installation team, shared the project’s impact, “So many people live in dark places, they don’t have light. This project came and is giving light to people freely, so many people (are) excited. My people in my village will soon get their lights as well.”
This latest PKP project will extend across three provinces to Morobe, Madang and New Ireland.
A total of 31,154 households, streetlights and community facilities, solar energy and lighting systems are being installed to 280 villages; impacting over 155,000+ people.
These activities take the number of provinces where KTF has made a tangible impact over the past two decades to 18 of Papua New Guinea’s 22 provinces and regions.
“We are thrilled to expand this vital project, allowing us to work for the first time in this beautiful and remote region of Madang Province,” KTF CEO Dr Genevieve Nelson said.
“The Distribution & Installation of Solar Systems and Street Lights in Rai Coast will spark sustainable development in the region, offering safe, reliable and affordable energy that lights up pathways for opportunity.”
KTF has successfully delivered Australian-funded solar projects in Oro and Western Provinces, with an external evaluation highlighting the significant benefits of providing communities with reliable solar lighting and energy systems.
These projects have sparked holistic development outcomes, including a dramatic increase in time spent by students studying after dark, increased effectiveness of service delivery at aid posts, and greater feelings of safety among women and girls in their communities.
The PKP program is bringing solar energy to some of the remotest pockets of PNG, paving the way for improved education and health, safer communities, and economic development. The distribution and installation of solar systems and street lights in Rai Coast is lighting up communities and futures alike.