National Volunteer Service builds human resource, says official

NATIONAL Volunteer Service (NVS) is a government organisation that is building the country’s human resource through volunteers, an official said.
NVS policy planning and research officer Vakaloloma Siuta said this during a policy workshop last Friday in Port Moresby.
“Our volunteers go into remote areas to train locals on how to develop commercial farming, and help with on education and health,” she said.
“If they come across a school or health centre that has been closed for years, they work with the community to restore these vital services.”
Siuta said all the volunteers underwent trainings before they were sent out to their various locations.
“These volunteers are sent out to the field for a duration of three years,” she said.
“They are not on the government payroll, however, we give them monthly allowance of K1,000.”
She said due to funding issues, the ratio of volunteer to a village was 1:1.
Siuta said this year, they wanted to recruit many university graduates.
“By recruiting university graduates, we give them that platform to gain work experience,” she said.
“They give back to the country by providing assistance to locals through health, education and economic development,” she said.
She said they had met with Papua New Guinea University of Technology Vice-Chancellor Professor Ora Renagi to engage students in the Department of Communication and Development Studies to be their volunteers.
“We want to do an internship for these students by the end of this year,” she said.
“We are just waiting for the professor’s response.”