1500 homeless and underprivileged children that are often referred to as street kids have the opportunity to go to school this year thanks to Street Kids Ministry.
Over 13 years now the Street Kids Ministry which is run by The Salvation Army has been at the forefront to provide education to street kids in Lae, Morobe Province.
Street Kids Ministry Coordinator Mr Stanley Timai says these kids come from poor families that cannot afford to send them to a normal public primary school in Lae while others are homeless and some come from broken homes and are left on the streets to fend and survive on their own.
‘’For the past 13 years the Street Kids Ministry has been giving these kids a second chance to a better life through education.”
“Some may never have had the chance go to school but thanks to this ministry, these kids get the opportunity to sit in a classroom and get educated,” Mr Timai said.
The Salvation Army Street Kids Ministry offers free education and this year alone they have enrolled 1500 kids.
These kids are divided into 3 groups; 500 kids are in grades Prep- Grade 2, another 500 are in Grades 3-5 and the other 500 are in Grades 6-8.
Mr Timai also clarified that they are put into these grade categories so that the teachers can help them according to their age and level of intelligence.
“Once these kids catch up on the lessons then we try to find space in the public schools and enroll them there.”
He further explained that for those that have parents who are able to at least assist with fees, then it’s a relief for them but for others, they usually look for sponsors to fund their school fees.
At this time the Street Kids Ministry’s greatest need is classrooms because there is no proper classroom at present and these kids often take their lessons under a shade when the weather is fine otherwise all their classes take place inside the Salvation Army Transit Hall.
Street Kids Ministry Coordinator Mr Stanley Timai says with the present situation on Covid19, sharing the Transit Hall with hundreds of other people is very risky.
“At night people travelling to the highlands transit in the hall and during the day we have to sanitize the whole place before the kids come in for lessons and this is not 100% safe at all,” he said.
“We do not know who these travelers come in contact with and if one of the travelers who passes through the Transit Hall has Covid19 then all these kids are doomed, so we really need classrooms to also space these kids during lesson times,” said Mr Timai.
“I want to make an appeal to all the business houses in Lae, charity organizations and the Morobe Provincial Government as well as Lae MP John Rosso to please assist the Street Kids Ministry in cash or kind so we can build some classrooms for these kids.”
Street Kids Ministry has been operating for over 13 years now and during this time many street kids who have come through this system have become successful in their education and also in their lives.
“There are so many success stories and we want to make Lae City and Morobe Province a better place in the future, to make it a province that will have more elites than thugs.”
“Within these 13 years, the Salvation Army Street Kids Ministry has given over 5750 street kids a second chance to better education and we will continue to try our best to provide education to every street kid in the years to come because we believe in creating better lives for every kid despite whatever backgrounds they come from,” Mr Timai said.