From classrooms to clinics to mountain villages, a wave of humanitarian projects supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is bringing hope, health and healing to communities across Papua New Guinea.
In just the past month, three major initiatives — providing glasses to students, new medical equipment to rural hospitals and clean water to highland villages — have been launched or dedicated, blessing thousands of lives and strengthening the Church’s relationship with local leaders and organizations.
A clearer vision for students
For students who struggle to read the chalkboard or see the words in a textbook, learning can be an uphill climb. But thanks to a Church-funded donation with the Laila Foundation and Charity Vision, that struggle is beginning to ease.
Through a new initiative launched Oct. 9 at Gordon’s Secondary School in Port Moresby, between 2,500 and 5,000 students across the country will receive free prescription eyeglasses in the coming year. The Church is covering both the cost of the glasses and the logistics of their nationwide distribution, reported the Church’s Pacific Newsroom.
Elias Kapavore, Papua New Guinea’s minister of health, helped distribute the first pair of glasses and thanked the Church for its life-changing support.
“Through this work an entire generation of students will be able to reach their full potential for the benefit and blessing of all of Papua New Guinea,” he said. “Our deepest thanks are extended to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for their generous contribution.”
Sixteen-year-old Alexander Quiocho, a student at Gordon’s Secondary School, said receiving his first pair of glasses will help him succeed in school.
“I’m glad this is happening for young people everywhere in Papua New Guinea,” he said. “It will create an opportunity for everyone to enjoy learning, and that’s so important.”
The Church will also provide portable diagnostic equipment for future eye screenings in remote locations, ensuring children in even the most distant villages have access to better vision.
Healing in remote hospitals and villages
A modest hospital in Kwikila — long constrained by limited medical tools and space — has received a major boost through a Church donation of diagnostic equipment, patient beds and funding for a new maternity wing, reported the Church’s Pacific Newsroom.
The Church’s support has also enabled portable medical devices, including an AI-powered tuberculosis screening system, to reach remote villages such as Hula, where access to care is scarce. The small coastal clinic now uses a hand-held X-ray device linked to artificial intelligence software that can detect tuberculosis and recommend treatment within minutes.
Juda Nundima, a trained technician who travels between villages with the new equipment, said, “Traveling around the province and being able to do this kind of work is the most rewarding thing I [have] ever done. All I can say to the Church is, ‘thank you.’”
Rigo District health manager McKenzie Kupo called the donation “lifesaving.”
“It means everything to have a fully functional laboratory and diagnostic equipment to save lives,” he said, adding: “The portable X-ray is especially important to us. It is a blessing.”
Water for the Koningi Valley
In the nation’s mountainous Eastern Highlands Province, another community is finding new life through clean water. Along the Koningi River, subsistence farmers once relied on the river itself for drinking and washing — practices that spread waterborne disease.
Now, thanks to a Church-funded water system dedicated Oct. 13, residents across the Koningi Valley have access to clean spring water through a network of 26 faucets. The project harnesses a natural mountain spring and pipes the water 3.25 kilometers underground, preserving the environment while reducing illness by an estimated 70 percent, reported the Church’s Papua New Guinea Newsroom.
At the dedication service, local Goroka District President Woro offered a prayer of gratitude.
“Clean water is important to everyone,” he said. “We are very proud to help bring clean water to all of us here in the Koningi region. We want to be good neighbors with everyone, because that is what the Savior wants us to do.”
Children cheered and ran to be among the first to drink from the new system — a simple moment that reflected their joy.
These humanitarian efforts are part of the Church’s broader collaboration with Papua New Guinea’s government and local organizations to meet urgent needs in health, education and self-reliance. Upcoming projects include mobile cataract surgeries, additional school expansions, and new water systems for rural villages.
