WPDC Team

Shelley Houghton

Director, Secretary and Treasurer

Shelley has 30 years of experience working with indigenous people in the community development field. She spent 5 years working in West Papua from 2005 as an English program coordinator, developing a successful English tuition program which saw many students go on to teach English themselves. During that time she assisted a group of local Papuans at their request to commence the LEMAK Clean Water and Sanitation Program, the local partners of WPDC.
 
Shelley is fluent in Bahasa Indonesia, is a qualified CPA Accountant and is also accredited as an ESL Teacher. Shelley presently works as an Organisation Mentor with two indigenous grassroots organisations in Northeast Arnhem Land, and liaisons regularly with our LEMAK partners.

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Sally Andrews

Director 

Sally is studying a Masters of Asian and Pacific Studies at the Australian National University, and has completed a Bachelor of Laws/International and Global Studies at the University of Sydney, including an exchange semester funded by a New Colombo Plan Scholarship at Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta.

​She has completed research internships in the Melanesia Program of the Lowy Institute for International Policy, the Australian Mission to the United Nations, and worked for General Electric in Papua New Guinea on a maternal mortality project. Sally is passionate about development in West Papua and has been a member of WPDC since its inception, before taking on the role of Director in 2014.


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​Rebecca Andrews OAM

Director and Chairperson

​Rebecca has over 30 years of experience working in financial management and bookkeeping. Rebecca is a prolific volunteer, having held executive positions in the Upper Hawkesbury Power Boat Club, Woodlands Park Pony Club, Maroota Public School PCA, Ebenezer/Pitt Town Uniting Church Council, Burnside Family Learning Centre, and the Maroota South RFS. Rebecca has experience as a swimming coach, Lifeline counsellor, scripture teacher, power boat race driver, heavy vehicle operator, and volunteer firefighter. Rebecca also served in the Australian Army Reserve from 1980-1993, working in 1st Field Ambulance and then 177 Air Dispatch.
 
Rebecca is a founding director of WPDC and is our primary fundraiser, having organised many great fundraising events for us over the years with the help of the amazing community at the Ebenezer / Pitt Town Uniting Church. In 2020 Rebecca was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of her work with the West Papuan Development Company.

Steve Abrahams

Director

​Steve Abrahams is a retired Veterinarian, having worked with domestic animals for 38 years. His passions include gardening, rose breeding and working with steel. His hobby for the last 55 years has been white water canoeing. He is an active volunteer with the Rural Fire Service in NSW, is currently restoring a National Trust garden in Maitland, and loves to help out WPDC with fundraising and other activities.
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He passionately believes in WPDC's mission of providing support through fundraising and education. This support not only provides employment and training in Papua, but results in fresh water for villages. He appreciates that every dollar raised goes directly to the building of wells, making WPDC a true grassroots program.

 Bruce and Laurelle Smith

​Directors

Bruce is a qualified flour miller and spent 30 years with the one company progressing through all facets of the business, i.e. warehousing, pest control, distribution and site management. He has always been a handyman and worked for himself for three years doing minor building maintenance, rural fencing and gardening. He then spent 14 years working for a nail gun company based in Sydney, and set up a service centre in each state of Australia over that period. Always being interested in community welfare, he was a member of the Hawkesbury SES for 15 years. After relocating to his current home, he joined the local Rural Fire Service and has been a member for 20 years, where he is one of the deputy captains, an equipment coordinator, and a heavy vehicle driving instructor. He has a passion for assisting where he can and supporting people in need.

Laurelle is retired after working in the mushroom growing industry for 30 years. She enjoys gardening, is an avid reader, and is addicted to all types of puzzles. Laurelle is a member of the Maroota South Rural Fire Service. She volunteers as treasurer, caterer and gardener and is happy to do other volunteer work where needed. Laurelle has recently joined as a Director of WPDC alongside her husband Bruce, and passionately believes in WPDC's target of fresh water wells for villages in West Papua.

LEMAK Team

Yohanes Awom

​Yohanes has worked with the LEMAK team since the beginning of the organisation, and is highly trained across the entire well construction process. He is originally from the island of Biak. He finished his studies at level SMK, majoring in the faculty of electrics, and he is now married with one child. He has experience in studying at the University of Science and Technology in Jayapura. Yohanes is the joker of the group and always keeps the group laughing.

Elvis Rumboy

Elvis is originally from Depapre, Papua Province. He achieved a Bachelor of Economics at the Ottow & Geissler Economic College, before attaining a Masters in Public Policy from Cenderawasih University in 2013. He has over 10 years of development sector experience across numerous West Papuan development projects. Elvis has worked as the Program Coordinator at the Organisation for Papuan Outreach and Community Development, Economics Networking Coordinator for the Life Environment Organisation, and as Coordinator for Consulting, Mentoring, and Development Organisation in West Papua.
 
Elvis has extensive mentoring and leadership experience in the field of indigenous small business management, research projects, project management, and credit union programs. He is married with three children and is currently the Director of LEMAK.

Erick Antoh

​Erick Antoh has been working with LEMAK- aka Lembaga Air Kehidupan, or 'Water for Life Organisation- since he graduated from high school. Erick is originally from Jayapura, although his family are originally from the Maybrat regency in West Papua province. After finishing his high school education, Erick went on to pursue tertiary studies at the Ottow and Geissler Economic College, before starting work in well-construction for LEMAK.

Kostan Yawa

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Originally from the Sarmi regency in Jayapura and now living in Holtekam, Kostan is now a permanent and extremely hard-working member of the LEMAK well construction team.

Frans Bary

Originally from the port city of Kaimana in West Papua province, Frans now lives in Jayapura and has been working with LEMAK for several years. After graduating high school at the SMA level, Frans started working in the area of well construction, mainly using bore techniques, until he was invited to join LEMAK. He is a devoted family man and is married with one child.