MAHONIA NA DARI (MND) Supporting Children Living with Disability in Marine Environment Education Papua New Guinea
In the last quarter of 2021, Mahonia Na Dari (MND) launched its first Junior Marine Environment Education Program for children living with disabilities. The program was supported by the Australian Government through Incentive Fund Phase 4.
To ensure the new program was tailored to participants, MND sought advice from Callan Services, which is Papua New Guinea’s leading disability rights, advocacy and representative network for all people with disability and has a particular focus on inclusive education and training.
Eight students from Callan Centre participated in the program which catered to a variety of learning needs for the students Five teachers and two parents were present as support and communication agents. Their skills proved invaluable to the successful completion of the indoor and outdoor activities.
MND looks forward to continuing activities and building on experience gained in their future engagements with Callan Services. We feel confident this visit has commenced a path to a successful environment learning skills transfer for students who have not had the opportunities to participate in such learning processes in the past.
Mahonia Na Dari’s mission is to understand and conserve the natural environments of Kimbe Bay and Papua New Guinea (PNG) for the benefit of present and future generations. This has been and continues to be achieved by supporting local resource management initiatives with all our community.
Mahonia Na Dari (MND) means “Guardian of the Sea” in the local Bakovi language of the Talasea Peninsula in West New Britain Province (WNBP), Papua New Guinea.
Mahonia Na Dari started in 1997, through co-operative effort between The Nature Conservancy, the European Union Islands Regional Environmental Program and Walindi Plantation Resort. Mahonia Na Dari operates from the Walindi Nature Centre (Walindi NC).
The organization was registered as an independent non-government organization in November 1998, with its own Board of Directors. It was formed to provide Marine Environment Education Program (MEEP) to the local population in West New Britain Province and the New Guinea Islands region.
Its mission is to understand and conserve the natural environments of Kimbe Bay and Papua New Guinea (PNG) for the benefit of present and future generations. This has been and continues to be achieved by supporting local resource management initiatives now and during the past.
Since the inception of the organization in 1998, MND has reached out to more than 150,000 students and teachers, local communities and other organizations who are interested in marine education.
In the national arena, MND is a leading advocate for marine conservation with strengths in marine education and awareness. It facilitates marine research and an increased understanding of the marine environment.
These programs have promoted the protection of PNG’s abundant biodiversity by promoting sustainable use of marine resources by the community.
Learn more about Walindi's conservation work here: https://walindiresort.com/conservation
Learn more about Mahonia Na Dari here: https://www.mndpng.org/
