Hela Province was in high spirits recently, with a mass graduation ceremony coupled with the voluntary surrender of firearms. These events were commended by James Marape who attended these events in person, where he praised the Hela Governor Philip Undialu for his exemplary leadership. Over 3,000 young people in second-chance education and graduated from their Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) and small business training courses as well as high school completion through the Flexible Open Distance Education (FODE) programme, took place in Tari. “On Christmas Day, we witnessed a graduation programme that brought back many people to school through TVET, small business training and FODE, providing second-chance opportunities for over 3,000 young individuals.” After Prime Minister Marape and his delegation left, Governor Undialu oversaw the surrender of firearms at Wabia, with the assistance of Komo-Hulia MP Daniel Tindipu and Hela entrepreneur Charlie Waro, who operates a very-successful trucking business in the USA. Over 100 homemade guns, various factory-made guns, and bows and arrows were voluntarily surrendered during the event. PM Marape said the surrendering of the guns and weapons was significant. “The onus is now on the people of Hela to take ownership of the future by having respect for each other.” “The surrender of firearms is a positive step, and it marks the right direction.” “A big appreciation also to the people of Hulia Valley, who responded to my call on Christmas Day by voluntarily surrendering firearms.” Marape went on to express his appreciation for the combined efforts of political, administrative, and public sector leadership in Hela, led by Governor Undialu, to restore peace and normalcy during the Christmas period. “I commend Governor Undialu for his strong leadership in Hela Province,” Prime Minister Marape said. Looking forward, Prime Minister Marape urged all provincial education advisors to extend FODE throughout their respective provinces, transforming existing schools into FODE centres for second-chance learning, TVET, and small business training.