Not For Profit: Jacqueline Mary Boga Garoau

A Lifetime of Advocacy for Inclusion and Equality

Jacqueline Mary Boga Garoau has spent her career breaking down barriers and ensuring that people living with disabilities have a voice in the decisions that affect their lives.

A lawyer by profession, Jacqueline recently retired as Principal Legal Advisor within the Department of Prime Minister and NEC after a distinguished career in law, governance and public policy. Alongside her professional achievements, she has devoted countless hours to advancing the rights of persons with disabilities and women throughout Papua New Guinea.

As former female co-chair of the Papua New Guinea Assembly for Disabled Persons (PNGADP), Jacqueline was instrumental in representing the interests of people living with disabilities at a national level. Her leadership and advocacy played a key role in consultations that contributed to the passage of the Disability Services Act 2025, a landmark step forward in strengthening protections, services and inclusion across the country.

Drawing on her own lived experience as a person with disabilities, Jacqueline has become a respected and authentic voice for change. Her advocacy has inspired others to pursue leadership roles, challenged perceptions and helped create more inclusive spaces for women and persons with disabilities.

Today, Jacqueline continues that work as female co-chair of the Hebamo Central Province Organisation of Persons with Disabilities, where she is helping establish grassroots disability advocacy structures and empowering communities to lead their own development.

Her unwavering commitment to service, inclusion and empowerment has created lasting change and made her an outstanding champion for equality in Papua New Guinea.