Salvos help children

By VICKY BAUNKE
MORE than 3000 children between the ages of 3 to 18 from settlements in Lae have been given an opportunity to receive formal education through the Lae Salvation Army’s social services division.
Division coordinator Jackson Suave said the programme called “Lae street kids school” begun in 2007 after the church identified a need in the community to provide education to children who were willing to go to school but were missing out on education because of social issues faced within their families and parents.
According to programme supervisor Stanley Timai, a volunteer offering elementary teaching, many students have completed their primary education as a result of the programme in the past nine years.
“The programme begun with two hours of classes each day when we first started,” Timai told The National.
“The programme has significantly developed over the years and we currently have 150 registered students with more showing interest but we are unable to accept more because of the limited space.”
Timai said after selecting top students, he then arranges with feeder schools in Lae to enrol the students into primary schools.
“Classes are divided into elementary and upper primary with 3 teaching staffs who supervise about 50 students each,” he said.
“We do not charge these students any fees.”
The school is located in the Salvation Army premises along the Eriku bus stop and usually serves as a convenient sleeping space for standard travellers at night and is used as a classroom during the day.