Western Highlands now has a committee to address the issue of street children in the province.
Thirty-one (31) members of the new committee were officially recognised and endorsed by the National Office for Child and Family Services (NOCFS) in Mt Hagen recently.
National Office for Child and Family Services (NOCFS) chief executive officer Jerry Wap, who was on hand to witness and endorse the committee, said the committee will play a pivotal role in addressing the issue of street children in the province and more specifically in Mt Hagen the country’s third largest city.
“The work that you are doing is a very important one and we will continue to support you next year and onwards,”
Wap told the committee. “We have to put serious efforts into addressing street children’s issues in our country. Mt Hagen is the main business centre for all the provinces in the Highlands Region so it is an important centre where many social issues including children issues take centre stage,” he said.
“Mt Hagen has developed over the years and this has resulted in many people migrating from the villages to the city.” Wap explained that the establishment of the committee was timely and was created in response to an important societal concern affecting Mt Hagen city and the greater Western Highlands Province.
“Let us not see child protection as a social issue—it is also a moral issue that needed to be addressed,” Wap said. “Every child born in this country must be protected and every citizen in this country must be educated on the importance of protecting children,” he said. Wap advised the new committee to produce a report on street children in the province and send a copy to the provincial administration and also to his office by the end of next year.
National Child and Family Services Council deputy chairperson and deputy chief magistrate Josephine Kilage said children’s issues are not only a moral issue but also a developmental issue that affects the country’s progress and future.
“This is also a developmental issue. If we have stronger families, it will lead to stronger societies and a better Papua New Guinea,” she said. “Family unit is very important so we need to get the basics right so that we can stabilize our country,” Kilage said. “We will grow old so if we neglect our children now, we will reap what we sow later,” she said.
The deputy chief magistrate said she was impressed with the way Western Highlands Province is taking the lead in establishing the joint task force committee on street children. Kilage said the province has done well and is setting the precedent for other provinces to follow in addressing children’s issues.
She explained that one important programme for the NOCFS from 2026 onwards will be to assist provinces set up their respective Provincial Child and Family Services Councils. The new committee was taken through a sensitization session regarding the functions of the NOCFS, the Lukautim Pikinini Act (2015), the Adoption of Children Act, the Family Protection Act, the Juvenile Justice Act and other related legislations and policies that govern and the welfare and interests of children in the country.
Notable members of the Western Highlands Joint Task Force Committee on Street Children are Andrew Kerua, Mt Hagen City Authority (MHCA) community development manager, Grace Kelly, MHCA welfare officer, Steven Tepra, Western Highlands Provincial (WHP) administration community development executive manager, Peter Neville WHP child protection officer and Betty Jacobs, the senior provincial magistrate.
