Creating pathways for young people in Papua New Guinea

In Papua New Guinea, young people are drawing on their resourcefulness and ambition to pursue education, build skills, and create opportunities for their future.

Since 2020, Hand Heart Pocket has partnered with Save the Children through the Life Skills for Success program to support young people in Papua New Guinea to build the skills, confidence, and pathways needed to pursue education, livelihoods, and employment opportunities. During the current 2024-26 phase of the partnership, the program exceeded its target of reaching 210 young people through Life Skills Training, supporting 215 participants by August 2026.

In the last year, 75 young people completed Life Skills Training. A further 81 completed financial literacy training, with 52 graduates opening their first MiBank accounts to start saving and planning for the future. Another 27 enrolled in formal education pathways, including five who completed technical and vocational training and gained national certification in areas like computing, electrical work and motor mechanics.

Ako Alu is one of them. At 24, financial pressure forced him to drop his business accounting degree. Ako joined Life Skills for Success in 2025, where an information session from the Human Development Institute’s (HDI) entrepreneurship pathway shifted his sense of what’s possible. He enrolled with HDI days later to start his training and take up the challenge of starting his own business. Ako has since worked his way through to Level 3 of their program, and in October 2025, he co-founded Phoenix Associates, a catering and car wash business, along with six fellow participants.

“When I joined HDI, I thought it was just another institution to obtain a certificate, but I realised success isn’t about qualifications alone – it’s really about focus, determination, hard work, discipline, and commitment,” said Ako.

In November 2025, CEO Sara Parrott and Manager, Social Impact Partnerships, Roz Black made Hand Heart Pocket’s first visit to Papua New Guinea, spending five days in Port Moresby meeting young people and local partners firsthand, and visiting Members from Port Moresby Lodge and New Guinea Lodge.

Alongside Life Skills for Success, Hand Heart Pocket is also supporting UNICEF’s Girls Empowered Program, which will reach 600 girls aged 11 to 18 through trauma-informed programming designed to build self-confidence and critical life skills.

Photo caption: Life Skills for Success participant taking part in the panel discussion during the Hand Heart Pocket visit to Port Moresby