Youths volunteer to clean Mt Hagen, address law and order issues

About 200 youths in Mt Hagen have teamed up to form an association to clean the city and address law and order problems.
The Mt Hagen City Youths Association (MHCYA) consists of youths volunteering to make the city clean and safe.
Association chairman Richard Kerry said most of the youths have been involved in bag snatching, grabbing mobile phones, stealing from vehicles and other crimes.
He said the members were named as “grass” and they have registered their association with the Investment Promotion Authority (IPA).
“We have changed from our past and what we did is water under the bridge. We are looking at working with the city council to change the city’s image.
“This is part of saying sorry for what we did and this association will work along with the city authorities and police to make Hagen become a more peaceful place,” Kerry said.
Kerry said out of the 200 members 10 were women.
Meanwhile, Mt Hagen City Council gave K30,000 to the association for its work.
Acting Mt Hagen city manager Peter Noki, when presenting the cheque to Kerry on Friday, commended the efforts of the youths to make the city a better place for people to live in.
“If we point fingers, we get nothing from it and I want to thank this youth group for sacrificing your lives and time to restore the image of the city,” Noki said.