Thursday, July 30th, 2009 – Port Moresby: today Digicel Foundation launched the 28th Community Learning Centre (CLC) in Badihagwa, a settlement of more than 1,000 people.

The Digicel Foundation strives to support projects that provide opportunities that will inspire and build positive energy in its citizens, which will in turn lead to stronger, self sufficient communities. The Community Learning Centre in Badihagwa  is the realization of Digicel Foundation’s vision to make a difference and play a positive role in peoples lives in PNG.

The Digicel Foundation first came in contact with the Badihagwa  community via the WeCARe Foundation, a non profit organisation which focuses on supporting young women and children whom are at risk of being abused. One of the eight WeCARe groups is in Badihagwa, a settlement on the outskirts of Port Moresby. The Group Carer, Madlyn, a mother of 5 children, runs the group here in a traditionally built shelter next to her humble home. The pre-school with 30-40 children operates from this shelter, with volunteer mothers as teachers from the community. Volunteer mothers also help out with the preparing of daily nutritious meals for the children of which the most are orphaned and have no one to care for them. The problem the Care Group  was facing however was that the shelter was getting to small and was not really suitable to use as a pre-school. For example if it rains it gets wet inside so there are no classes and also the materials cannot be kept safely. When the Digicel Foundation went out with WeCARe Founder, Father John Glynn, to visit Madlyn and her WeCAre Group and experienced the great community work she is doing the idea came up to roll out a Community Learning Centre, opposite her house, on an empty plot of land. With this extra resource centre she would be able to expand her activities with infrastructure to use as a pre-school and other classes as well as secure storage for materials.

It is the Digicel Foundation’s belief that this Community Learning Centre will help the Badihagwa community grow even more by giving the community access to a safe and secure community facility to be used as a school, library, resource centre and community learning centre for various kinds of training such as adult literacy, skilled-based training, cooking and sewing for women, and HIV/AIDS awareness depending on the specific needs of the community.

This is only the beginning as the Digicel Foundation has earmarked several other communities in POM such as 9 Mile and Vadavada settlement for the launch of a Community Learning Centre over the next month. Digicel Foundation plans on rolling out a total of 40 CLC’s in PNG by March next year.

Since the launch of the Foundation last year October, 28 Community Learning Centres, 4 school building projects, a Meri Seif Haus and the first Mobile Clinic have been established. Over the next year the Foundation plans to fund more projects that aim at supporting communities to become more self-reliant in the future.