Men walk for children’s cause

By VERONICA FRANCIS
IT was all smiles for a group of 20 men who fronted up at the reception area of The National office yesterday afternoon to tell their adventure and why they took this journey.
The group from the Melpa Children Development Centre (MCDC) in Western Highlands, walked five days on the Kokoda Track in a drive to create awareness on empowering children’s development and to raise funds to support the activities of their organisation.
MCDC is a new organisation which was established last month with the vision to empower children’s development in their early childhood.
MCDC interim president Shain Steven said he realised there was a big gap in the community level on how children should be treated and cared for, adding developing kids in a positive way at an early age will determine their future, which is the main idea why they formed this organisation.
“We will start educating people at the rural level especially in our own community and eventually make our way out, adding by addressing situations from the roots we will find a solution in a long run,” Steven said.
He said MCDC would focus on educating people in the community about the rights of children, discourage child abuse, encourage parents to send their children to school, create awareness on family planning, do census on the age group of children to identify the right age for enrolment and identify orphans to lend a hand.
Steven is now appealing to the public for assistance and donation of cash or kind to carry out their activities since MCDC is a new organisation.
“We must, by all means, help our children today because they will be our future tomorrow,” he said.
The group left Mt Hagen on Nov 21 for Lae and then to Popondetta and walked the Kokoda Track and arrived at  Owers’   Corner last  Friday.
They will be in Port Moresby for two weeks to conduct awareness and see the level of response they get from groups and individuals in the city before they return to Mt Hagen.