Digicel gives K18,000 to local centres

By DULCIE OREKE
THREE communities have won community learning centres – thanks to the Digicel Foundation.
This year’s winner, Keltiga community learning centre from Mt Hagen, Western Highlands, earned K10,000 funding for a community project.
Port Moresby’s Mutinneo CLC, located at 9-Mile, was second and won K5,000 funding, while the third prize went to Kamut association at the Busu compound CLC in Lae, Morobe.
It received K3,000. 
The foundation has funded 33 community learning centres in urban and rural communities in Mt Hagen, Goroka, Lae and Port Moresby.
The centres are containers or small kit structures where members of the community can meet to run education programmes and hold activities.
The majority of the Digicel Foundation community learning centres operate as preparatory  and elementary schools, with five recently recognised by the education department as formal elementary schools.
A CLC building is provided to communities that apply to the foundation and demonstrate strong community leadership, motivation, ownership and responsibility for all members in the community. 
Anna Minembia, from the winning community, praised the Digicel Foundation’s initiatives.
She said the project had taught her and her community to be self-reliant.
Minembia said from the seed funding issued, the community had been able to conduct personal viability training, poultry project, a sewing project and pay volunteer teachers, water projects and others.
NCD Governor Powes Parkop,  who was at the presentation, gave full credit to the foundation.
He said: “We must continue to invest in young people.”
However, Parkop said  not too many corporate bodies were conducting such initiatives.