26/07/2026
MEET THE 7 WOW 2026 WINNERS!
Back row (from left): teacher Elizabeth Tandoa (Public Sector), filmmaker Wosi Kaevo (Sports & Arts), inclusion specialist Stella Ipang (WOW overall winner/Private Sector), farm co-op development consultant Martha Raka (Entrepreneur), women’s football club founder Getta Kambar (Young Achiever) and marine protection advocate Emma Oliver (Sustainability).
Front: disability rights advocate Jacqueline Mary Boga Garoau (Not-for-Profit).
⭐️ Elizabeth Tandoa (Public Sector) is deputy principal of Gerehu Secondary School in Port Moresby and a long-serving educator recognised for improving discipline, academic performance and student development. Her broader contribution includes a long-running community literacy and numeracy program for children over 10 who need extra support to read and learn.
⭐️ Wosi Kaeyo (Sports & Arts) is a producer with Jona Film Production, the team behind locally made PNG films including 'Plesman' and 'Plesman 2'. Her work uses film to tell PNG stories and address social issues such as youth unemployment, tribal conflict, peace-building and women’s empowerment, while promoting peace, self-reliance and development. Through locally told stories, she is helping grow PNG’s film industry and giving Papua New Guinean experiences, concerns and aspirations a stronger presence on screen.
⭐️ Stella Ipang (Private Sector / Overall Woman of the Year) is a GEDSI (Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion) specialist working through the Abt-managed PATH health program. She has helped make immunisation and other health services more accessible to women, people with disabilities and communities that are often difficult to reach, including through a GEDSI Action Plan and inclusion scorecard. She also created the interactive EmpowerMe Puzzle and authored My Action Words, practical tools designed to turn inclusion principles into meaningful action across PNG’s health sector.
⭐️ Martha Raka (Entrepreneur) has helped over 1500 Morobe farmers over the past seven years turn small rural holdings and co-ops into organised market-linked enterprises, developing climate-resilient farming methods, increasing income opportunities and transforming lives. Based in Lae, her work as a social entrepreneur and cooperative development practitioner – bringing together communities, government agencies and private-sector partners – sits at the heart of one of PNG’s biggest development challenges: helping rural producers move beyond subsistence into stronger, collective agricultural businesses.
⭐️ Getta Kambar (Young Achiever) is a construction management UniTech graduate working in the male-dominated industry as a site manager with Lamana Development in Port Moresby. She won CPL’s Pride of PNG Women Young Leader Award in 2024 for mentoring young women and supporting community initiatives, including a book drive, spelling bee project and women’s football development through Bernice Football Club. She was also named second runner-up in the 2024 Miss Bird of Paradise PNG Pageant.
⭐️ Emma Oliver (Sustainability) is an East New Britain marine biologist and educator who founded ENB Sea Keepers and ENB Marine Conservation Consultancy Services, leading community-driven works such as coral restoration, marine stewardship, youth conservation training, ecotourism and coastal-community education. ENB Sea Keepers has cultivated thousands of coral fragments across restoration sites and trained young conservation volunteers, building a locally-led model for protecting reefs while creating pathways into environmental work. A One Young World ambassador (2024), Emma combines scientific expertise, indigenous knowledge and global advocacy to advance conservation and position PNG’s environmental priorities on the international stage.
⭐️ Jacqueline Mary Boga Garoau (Not-for-Profit) is a lawyer and disability-rights advocate who has helped strengthen national representation for people with disabilities, particularly women, through the PNG Assembly of Disabled Persons. As former co-chair, she played a key role in consultations leading to the Disability Services Act 2025, which promotes stronger rights, greater accessibility and the meaningful inclusion of people with disabilities in decision-making and community life. Drawing on both her legal expertise and lived experience, and now serving at provincial level, her work is especially significant in a country where disability services and representation remain underdeveloped.
Congratulations to the 7 winners as well as all 20 finalists!
