Girls, parents thank Catholic Sisters of Mercy for help

TWO young girls from Fatima in Jiwaka and their parents have thanked the Sisters of Mercy PNG-Australia for paying their school fees this year.
Debbie Ding and Merolyn Apa, who are second-year students at the University of Goroka and Holy Trinity Teachers College in Mt Hagen respectively, have been helped with their tuition fees by the nuns’ mercy works group.
Ding said they paid half of her tuition while Apa said hers was paid full.  The group meets full payment for students in colleges and half for university fees.
Ding’s parents Peter Ding and Evelyn Kupul, said they struggled to pay their daughter’s school fees but the help of the Mercy Sisters had relived some of their burden.
Mercy Sisters have helped Merolyn and Debbie last year with their tuition fees and continued this year because both girls were on the Government’s higher education contribution assistance scheme (Hecas).
“They told us they would help us again if we were on Hecas. We are so thankful for their help because our parents have struggled to pay our school fees,” the girls said.
“There are other students in other parishes that have been identified and were eligible so they paid their school fees too.”
Sr Anne Foale, mercy works coordinator of overseas and indigenous projects, said they identified students from underprivileged families who faced hardships in paying their children’s school fees.
“What we do is usually mercy works; help out needy schools with projects and students that perform well academically and selected to college and university,” Foale said.
“Our help would motive the girls to aim higher.”