Students clean up city to mark prayer day

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By TONY PALME KIP
STUDENTS of Hagen Park Secondary School marked Repentance Day by cleaning up Mt Hagen city to apologise for the damage they caused there during recent student protests.
School president Nimrod Rui said: “We are sorry from the bottom of our heart for the damage we’ve done to business houses during the student unrest at our tertiary institutions.
“Since it was a national issue that affected us, we had to get involved ourselves but we never knew about what consequences our actions would have on our city.
“We regret and are really sorry.
“We will never take such actions again.
“We ask the business community, the public and the people of Western Highlands to forgive us.
“This is our city and our pride.
“We would like to make it clean, beautiful and safe for everyone at all times.”
Rui said the whole school, with more than 3,000 students, was involved in the clean-up.
Principal Tony Buldung said student leaders, who initiated the activities, regretted their actions which damaged properties. He said students from the school pledged not to create chaos in the city or be part of any issues that could be detrimental to the city.
“I commend the student leaders and the whole student body for owning up and taking responsibility over their city,”  Buldung said.
“As intellectuals and future leaders in the province and country, they’ve realised that what they did was wrong.”
Last Thursday, the students held a dedication mass at the school ground before cleaning up and made a formal apology on the following day at Queen’s Park.
Mt Hagen City Authority’s Leo Noki applauded the students for taking ownership of the city.
He said the undertaking by the students to clean up the city complemented the authority’s plans.