'A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling.
God sets the lonely in families, He leads forth the prisoners with singing.'
Psalm 68: 5-6A
ABOUT US
Our Mission
“Empowering individuals and impacting communities, one link at a time.”
Our Vision
To deliver programs that have a lasting and life transforming impact on those living impacted by HIV and the communities in which they live.
Our Purpose
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To operate a Child Sponsorship Program for children living impacted by HIV / AIDS
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To provide care packages, school uniforms and supplies for children on the Child Sponsorship Program
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To deliver a pre-school literacy program for children on the Child Sponsorship Program
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To deliver Small Business Training for caregivers of our sponsored children and graduated LOH youth
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To deliver community programs in settlement areas in HIV/AIDS education and awareness, small business and vocational skills
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To operate a Fair Trade Craft Project working with LOH caregivers, with a particular focus on the women
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To work closely with key partners such as HIV Paediatric Unit at Port Moresby General Hospital and the Hilary Clinic (Western Highlands Provincial Health Authority)
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Provide primary healthcare services in those communities where children are on the child sponsorship program
Papua New Guinea (PNG) has the highest HIV prevalence in the Asia-Pacific Region, hovering at 1% of the total population. As of 2018, 48,000 people are living with HIV in PNG, of which 65% are enrolled on ART. There are an estimated 2,100 annual new infections, of which approximately 300 are infants born with HIV.
Compared to other high prevalence countries, PNG still struggles with PPTCT and therefore only 33% of HIV positive pregnant mothers access PPTCT interventions and there remains a 25% vertical transmission rate (children are born with HIV each year). This challenge is largely due to a lack of infrastructure and late uptake of antenatal care; however, it is important to note that parent to child transmission of HIV is entirely preventable. If parents are aware of their HIV status and remain on treatment for the duration of pregnancy and breastfeeding, if positive, then there is a >95% chance that the child will not contract HIV himself. In the interim, LOH aims to support children and families impacted by the HIV epidemic in order to ensure that these children have an equitable chance at a prosperous future.
Recognising a need and lack of formal support systems, Links of Hope (LOH) was founded in 2011 with an initial objective of supporting Papua New Guinean women released from prison in the creation of small business enterprises. LOH also assisted a number of widows from local communities and settlements and began supporting those impacted by the HIV and AIDS epidemic through linkages to care. A major focus of Links of Hope is now the operation of a Child Sponsorship program, supporting children impacted by the HIV epidemic. As of 2019, LOH has 300 children on the Child Sponsorship Program, all of whom are living in some way impacted by the HIV epidemic. Our remit and passion are to pastorally care for them and see them thrive in their communities by supporting them with education, basic health care, training in trade skills and small business enterprise for their caregivers, offering caregivers small business loans, and running community education initiatives.
Links of Hope takes child protection very seriously and we are always evolving our Child Protection Policy. View the most recent version here.
OUR MANDATE
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To operate a Child Sponsorship Program for children living affected by HIV
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To provide care packages and school fees for children on Child Sponsorship Program
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To deliver a pre-school literacy program weekly for children on Child Sponsorship Program
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To provide Literacy and Further Education Training for Women in Bomana Women’s Prison
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To deliver Small Business Training for carers of our sponsored children, women in prison and women on release
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To deliver Community programs in settlement areas in HIV Education and Awareness, Small Business and Vocational Skills
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To operate a Fair Trade Craft Project working with women on release from Bomana Women’s Prison
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To work closely with key partners - HIV Paediatric Unit at Port Moresby General Hospital, Hilary Clinic - Western Highlands Provincial Health Authority, Businesses for Health, St Johns Ambulance PNG, Anglicare PNG, Tribal Foundation PNG, Soroptimist International, Brian Bell Foundation, Deloitte, FissPotts Rugby Club, amongst others
LINKS OF HOPE TEAM
John Bromley
Co-Founder and Board Chairman
John.bromley@linksofhopepng.com
John was born in PNG and raised in what is now the Jiwaka Province. His parents were pioneer missionaries and left him with an amazing legacy of cross-cultural ministry and a strong calling to the people of PNG. John is a Commercial Pilot, Aircraft Maintenance Engineer and an Aviation Regulator by profession. John has 30 years of aviation experience with 18 of those years serving with Mission Aviation Fellowship. He now heads up a NGO in PNG called the Rural Airstrip Agency of PNG that has the task to partner with the Government to maintain and restore around 650 airstrips throughout the country. He is passionate about PNG and its people and is keen to work with them to implement sustainable community development programs.
Deborah Bromley
Co-Founder
Debbie.bromley@linksofhopepng.com
Deb was born in the UK and has a Bachelor of Food Science (Honours) Degree, graduating in 1988 from South Bank University in London, UK. She worked in the food industry for 20 years both in the UK and Australia. In 2010 Deb completed her Diploma of Youth Work. She has worked for Scripture Union Qld as a School Chaplain for 10 years and is currently a Chaplain in Cairns, Australia. Deb has led Christian Youth Camps with both Scripture Union Qld and Youth For Christ over the past 12 years and has pioneered a camp for adolescent girls on girl identity and God-given purpose since 2013. Deb and John are parents to 7 children. Deb is responsible for the majority of the administrative work required to keep Links of Hope functioning and growing. Her passion for seeing women and children well cared for has been a significant contributor to her founding Links of Hope. Deb lived in PNG 2010 - 2012 and shares a calling to the people of PNG.
Seruma Numa
Operations Manager
Seruma.numa@linksofhopepng.com
Seruma is from Milne Bay Province. She has been volunteering with Links of Hope since 2015 and has previously worked within our pastoral care team. Seruma has been leading our team of staff in both Port Moresby and Mount Hagen for 2 years and is an asset to our team. Seruma has qualifications in Early Childhood education, Accounting and Business Management and has studied in both PNG and Australia. She is a mother of 3 girls and has a passion to see the young people in our program reach their full potential.
Elizabeth Loko
Social Worker - Port Moresby
Elizabeth.loko@linksofhopepng.com
Elizabeth comes to us with a wealth of experience in the Health sector, previously working as a Social Worker at the Clinton Clinic in Port Moresby. She currently is based at Port Moresby General Hospital and works alongside clinical staff and social workers there to support our children on the ward and at their clinical reviews. Elizabeth is also a carer for our children in the Respite Centre. She is our main point of contact for carers to receive pastoral care, advice and counselling as they care for our children in communities.
Kim Opiti
Board Member and Public Officer
Shalom Jacob
Project Officer- Port Moresby
Shalom.jacob@linksofhopepng.com
Shalom joined Links of Hope PNG in July 2019 as a carer at the Respite Home as a way to give back to the community. Since then, Shalom rapidly grew within the organisation and became further involved in data and project aspects. She now leads the LOH weekly health education program. With HIV being an issue of population health, it is rare to see an NGO focusing on one-on-one quality support and provision for vulnerable children. Shalom appreciates this approach and its ability to make a tangible difference in the community.
Steve Woods
Board Vice-Chairman
Steve.woods@linksofhopepng.com
Steve is an Australian who has been living in PNG for over 10 years. He has over 30 years of experience in business and has worked for several large Multi-National companies. He brings his expertise in negotiation, planning and budget control to our Board and shares the vison of Links of Hope's both short and long term plans. He is well connected in Business and has a passion for caring for those in need.