Young voices echo climate action

Children from Hagara Primary School with a climate action placard at the World Children’s Day celebrations yesterday at Sir John Guise Stadium Indoor Complex, Port Moresby.
– Nationalpic by JOEL HAMARI

Report below

Street kids need linking to parents, relatives, says minister

**Children from schools around Port Moresby reciting the National Pledge during the World Children’s Day celebrations yesterday at Sir John Guise Stadium, Port Moresby. – Nationalpic by JOEL HAMARI**

CHILDREN loitering in public places will have to be properly identified in order to see if their parents, guardians or relatives are still alive and well but not doing enough to take care of them, a minister says.
Community Development Youth and Religion Minister Wake Goi said proper verification processes had to be in place to ensure that the needs of disadvantaged children were addressed.
“Some of these children have parents and homes but are inclined to loiter in public places rather than being in school because of their parents’ carelessness,” he said.
“We are planning to properly identify these children, know their places of residence and make sure their parents take full responsibility of making they are not neglected.
“For homeless children and orphans, we will try to find out if they have relatives that can take care of them.
“Papua New Guineans have the heart to look after people, so before establishing centres to take in disadvantaged children, we have to make sure we exhaust all other possibilities.”