Australian High Commission
Papua New Guinea

Joe demonstrates spirit of volunteering

Nicknamed ‘Jack-of-all-trades’, Joseph ‘Joe’ Asiman, 48, has been a volunteer with the National Volunteer Service (NVS) for 12 years and shows no sign of slowing down in helping his community.

Joe grew up in Bumbu settlement, a disadvantaged area of Lae, Morobe Province. He calls himself a ‘Sepik from Morobe’ as both his parents originated from Chambri Lakes in East Sepik Province and moved to Lae in the early 1970s, where Joe and his five siblings were born and raised.

A devout Catholic, he began his volunteering career with the Catholic Church in 2004 as a HIV/ AIDS trainer, travelling the nine districts of Morobe to carry out community awareness, mainly with youth and women’s groups. During this time he saw the need to train communities in income generation activities, such as poultry, pig farming and sewing.

His late wife also volunteered with the Catholic Church, working as a cook at the age of 14 until her passing in August 2012, leaving behind Joe and two children.

“She was my main inspiration, in fact she was the one who encouraged me to do more for our community. She pushed me to get more training done as well,” Joe said.

Joe remarried in 2015, and has since had another child and adopted two more. He still volunteers with the Catholic Church, but his main role is with NVS in Tent City, one of the most notorious parts of Lae.

NVS is a government agency that reports directly to the Minister for Department for Community Development, Youth and Religion. NVS recruits Papua New Guineans to serve in rural communities as volunteers.

Volunteers like Joe play a crucial role in supporting community development and service delivery, particularly in remote and disadvantaged areas.

“I love helping others. I love working with others. That’s why I have been with NVS for this long,” Joe explained.

“I don’t see myself leaving. I am not satisfied with the work I’ve done for the last 12 years as I feel like I still need to do more. I’m currently working on a Scout’s program among others in my community at Tent City.”

Joe has helped build a local hospital and primary school, which are both named “Mary Queen of Peace”. He is also known in his community as the law and order chairman; helping police carry out patrols, mediation and arrests, and supporting parole officers to keep track of youth recently released from prison.

“I’m currently working on rehabilitating 139 youth that have been in jail and have now been released on good behaviour bonds,” Joe said.

“These are the youth that I want to start a Scouts program for as I believe the program will not only keep them busy, but also instil in them a sense of responsibility to rehabilitate them from substance abuse and ‘raskolism’.”

There is no stopping this Sepik man from initiating projects and serving his community. A keen sculptor, Joe is also working on creating a marketplace for local artists to display and sell their handicrafts.

NVS recently embarked on a partnership with Australia’s Indigenous Community Volunteers (ICV) based on shared values, reciprocal learning and a vision that places communities and culture at the heart of development.

The NVS/ICV partnership is supported through the Papua New Guinea-Australia Partnership for Decentralisation and Citizen Participation.

For further information, including access to related materials, please contact the Australian High Commission media team: +675 7090 0100

Joseph ‘Joe’ Asiman