Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea (ACPNG)
A Second Chance – Rewriting his future:
Morris’ story
When Morris Didibu tells his story, he begins with a long, dusty road that wound from his home village of Geresi in Rigo District to a school six hours away. “From my village to the school took me six hours of walking to Kwikila station,” he remembers. “Sometimes, I had to wake up as early as 4am in the morning and my mother would prepare my breakfast to carry and eat while walking.”
For a young boy, that journey was an exhausting burden. “It was very hard life growing up as a child to get educated,” Morris says. “The walking distance made me tired as I had to be up early every day and eventually, I did not complete my education. I only reached grade four and never went back to school again.”
Port Moresby Adult Literacy Centre Graduation – Learners Morris and Gabriel, National Capital District CD November 2025. © ABM/ Kate Winney.
When he later lost both parents, he lost even more than family. He lost direction, opportunity and confidence. “Years passed and I lost my parents which was a very devastating time for me,” he shares. “I did not know how to read and write, I was just a village man and could not even speak in English.”
Yet even in hardship, Morris held tightly to his faith. He became a pastor with the Reform Centre of PNG, but not being able to read scripture weighed heavily on him. “My problem was I could not read the Bible and write so I had to look for school to help me read and write.”
This search led him to a place that would change the course of his life: the Anglican Church Literacy Centre in Waigani.
“I appreciate God that he changed me and gave me new wisdom and direction to become somebody in the future,” Morris says. “They told me you go to Waigani and enrol in school and don’t waste your time. So I came to Anglican Church literacy centre at Waigani and enrolled on May 5th 2025.”
His family rejoiced. “My wife and older kids were happy that I joined the literacy program because I am provider and head of the family, I must provide. If I do not provide then my house is not in order.”
For Morris, this was not merely returning to school. It was reclaiming his dignity. “It is a privilege for me,” he says. “I did not take this golden opportunity lightly as every minute was accountable.”
And slowly, beautifully, change began to unfold.
“The Anglican school was the new path God has put for me to take,” he explains. “I was given a second chance to be able to learn how to read and write and even speak in English.”
As his literacy grew, so did his confidence. He began strengthening his transport business. “I have learnt how to bank money in the bank by filling deposit slips,” he says. “Previously when I was doing poultry and pineapple farming, I found it hard to go to the bank and do deposits as I was not able to read and write.”
Then came a moment he never thought possible: writing a letter to his wife, who is studying for her master’s degree in America. “The literacy school has helped me to also write a personal letter to my wife,” he shares proudly. “I am happy to show how the literacy program has made an impact in my life and now I can read, write and speak proper English.”
For Morris, his achievements are deeply tied to the people who taught him. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all teachers, especially Mrs Mary Wori, as her teaching skills and knowledge has made my dream come through to be able to read and write. I can now confidently speak, read and write in English.”
Morris’s story is a reminder of exactly what your support makes possible.
Every donation helps open doors for people who have been left out of education. It helps parents gain skills to support their families, pastors read their scriptures, farmers manage finances, and adults like Morris discover the confidence they never thought they would have.
Our Partner – the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea
ABM and AID have had a long relationship with the Anglican Church of PNG (ACPNG) to address many of the challenges faced by both the Church and the country.
The Anglican Province of Papua New Guinea is made up of five dioceses – Aipo Rongo, Dogura, New Guinea Islands, Popondota, and Port Moresby. Around 3% of Papua New Guineans identify themselves as Anglican, although in some provinces such as Oro, in Diocese of Popondota, this figure is as high as 60%.
Beginning in 1891, ABM missionaries were first sent to support the church to deliver its mandate, before a partnership model was adopted with ACPNG much later to empower local, community-based development. Today, AID works with the church to support the communities to lift themselves out of poverty and become role models for others.
The Work We Support
1. Bishop Newton School of Theology
To read about the theological education work supported by ABM in PNG, please click here: www.abmission.org/partners/newton
2. Strengthening the Church to Build Sustainable Communities
The current focus of ABM AID’s partnership with ACPNG is to support the church to provide leadership in addressing social and economic challenges experienced by the people. This work includes fostering social inclusion and safeguarding*, and training for livelihoods.
[*Safeguarding = Actions, policies and procedures that create and maintain protective environments to protect people from exploitation, harm and abuse of all kinds.]
ACPNG serves a wide geographic area across PNG including rural and remote communities and urban settlements in the five dioceses of the church.
Initiatives include the Anglican Communion’s Agents of Change course among ACPNG’s parishes and church groups. Agents of Change is a distance-learning course developed by the Anglican Alliance in conjunction with the Open University. It provides church members with the skills and knowledge to deliver effective community development projects in their local communities. These projects increase family incomes, strengthen collective community action, and support the development of leadership and management structures in parishes and dioceses.
An increasing number of parishes are also providing training in the Five Marks of Mission and in Safeguarding. This work links with the work of the Australian Government-funded Church Partnership Program (CPP) in that one of the pathways for that program’s Adult Literacy (AL) learners is to receive training in the Agents of Change course.
Your generosity builds far more than literacy. It builds dignity. It builds opportunity. It builds futures.
Because of supporters like you, Morris and many other graduates can now read their Bible, run their business with confidence and write to their family. Family members and friends see someone who keeps rising, learning and leading.
Your support is helping shape stories like Morris’s across Papua New Guinea, one learner, one classroom and one second chance at a time.
More information about Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world.
Over 800 languages are spoken throughout the islands, and over 1,000 distinct ethnic groups comprise the national population of over 10 million people.
It is also a country undergoing rapid change, as people move away from their villages to seek work and education in the cities. Because of the complexities of land tenure and the lack of employment opportunities, many end up living in settlements on the edges of the towns.
More than 40% of Papua New Guineans live below the country’s extreme poverty line. There is a high level of gender inequality, with PNG ranking 151st on the Gender Inequality Index among the 193 countries surveyed in 2022.
36.6% of people over 15 are illiterate (35% are male and 42% female). Only 26.3% of women and 36.5% of men have received some secondary education. The average number of years a child spends at school is 5.9 years.
A Prayer for our Partner
Almighty and merciful God, we give you thanks for the witness of the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea, serving your people across the towns and villages, coasts and highlands. Bless all who learn and teach through the Agents of Change course, and through Literacy and Numeracy training that opens minds and livelihoods. Strengthen leaders, safeguard the vulnerable, and deepen faith in action. May new skills build sustainable communities, families be uplifted in dignity and hope, and your kingdom be made known in daily work and shared learning. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Your support enables the church to lead transformative change, training and inspiring leaders who bring sustainable growth, hope, and opportunity to their communities. Together, we can strengthen lives and build a brighter future in PNG.
We hope to raise
$75,000
for this partner
Donation code: XG011
Tax-deductible
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You can support the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea empower communities to confront social and economic challenges with confidence and determination.
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Need help? Call us 1300 302 663
As noted, this is a tax-deductible project. All donations are in Australian dollars (AUD) and all gifts of $2 or more are tax-deductible. Gifts are received by the trustee for the ‘Anglicans in Development Ltd’ ABN 86 647 293 481 Gifts will be applied to the support of projects selected. In the unlikely event of projects being oversubscribed or not proceeding to completion, donations will be applied to similar projects.
Updates
Read about what’s happening at the Newton School of Theology
Bishop Jeffrey Driver’s latest Modawa Niusleta briefs us on new developments on the Modawa Institute campus.
New Guinea Martyrs’ Day commemorated across the country
ABM supporters across the country have attended services to commemorate the 12 Anglicans Martyrs who died in Papua New Guinea during WWII and learn about the ongoing work of the Anglican Church of PNG.
“Helped me more than I know”: Adult Literacy Improving Lives in Papua New Guinea
Something special is happening in Papua New Guinea. Across the country, adults are getting a second chance at an education. In Moreguina, 220km southeast of the nation’s capital of Port Moresby, a group of men and women raise their certificates proudly. They are the graduates of the Moreguina Literacy School - adults that can now read and write, something many Australians take for granted.
