Thirty-three young men graduated today from the Lae City Mission.
This marks the third graduation ceremony in 2022 for the faith-based, not-for-profit organisation, which takes in marginalised and at risk boys and youth, and trains them to be better citizens.
City Mission PNG has been “Spreading the love of God and meeting human needs” for over 25 years.
The Mission began as a ministry to street boys and while it has continued to grow and adapt to the challenging social and spiritual needs of PNG, it still maintains the basis of its foundation.
Program coordinator, Henry Paul, said the trainees undertook different trades, including welding, mechanical and electrical training, and carpentry.
“Basically to go through the full program of City Mission, em ol kisim one year, six months,” he stated.
“And with the basic vocational skills training, it took them three months with an additional one month for them to participate in professional skills classes, where we help them with CV writing, letter writing and how to apply for jobs. So we can say, four months for that.
“Most of these boys used to live on the streets and were involved in illicit activities such as drug abuse and petty crimes. Those were the ones we prioritised to work with.”
For this year, the first graduation took place in April, the second was in August and the final one today.
Paul said in a year, they take in between 200 and 300 youth, with their capacity set at 161.