Volunteers clean up, beautify Earhart Park

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By JUNIOR UKAHA
A GROUP of youths in Lae have volunteered to clean and beautify the neglected Amelia Earhart Park.
They are into their second week of work now and have done so without any funding assistance from authorities.
The youths, through their group, Menyamya Youths Rehabilitation Association (Myra), brought a container of paint, spades and bush knives to the iconic park along Markham Road and started cleaning it last Tuesday.
Their spokesperson Roger Moiya told The National that the group used to clean and plant flowers along the short-cut track from the Catholic Church in Top Town but decided to move to the park and clean it because it was overgrown with bushes.
“We started our group in 2007 and have been doing volunteer work ever since,” Moiya said.
“We are all street youths who have come from villages and found that there was no hope so instead of smoking marijuana, consuming alcohol and taking part in crime, we decided to help keep ourselves busy by cleaning and beautifying our city,” he said.
“We do not get any government support but we hope one day the authorities will recognise and assist us to do more,” Moiya said.
He said the youths used their own funding to buy tools, food and other things they need when they turned up to work.
“I once read in the newspaper that this park was neglected and needed to be cleaned so I organised 15 boys and we came here last week and started cleaning it.”
Moiya said the park has historical significance because it was created in honour of the female American aviator Amelia Earhart whose last destination was in Lae before she went missing. Moiya said anyone willing to assist the group can get in touch with him on 70075569.