The Digicel PNG Foundation contributed K80,000 towards the project and the launch marks the the second Meri Seif Haus which the Foundation has funded  The first was established in May 2009, at 2 Mile settlement in Lae in partnership with the Lae City Mission.

The Meri Seif Haus is a short-term facility that provides short-term accommodation to women and children who are subjected to family and sexual violence. The service also provides counselling, care and referrals for other care providers such as the Family Support Centre at POM General Hopsital and Haus Ruth, a Women’s Hostel and Refuge operated by the POM City Mission. A team of eight women volunteers from the Kaugere community have been identified to support the operations of the shelter under the management of Living Light Foursquare Church. The volunteers will receive professional support from the staff at Haus Ruth to help them along the way. 

Ps. Rodney Tomuriesa, Mission Representative for the Foursquare Church in PNG, speaking at the launch, said: “We are looking forward to opening the doors of this new Meri Seif Haus facility. Our community based volunteer team is ready and eager to reach out to help those women and children in this community that need support. Strengthening the family structure, through facilities such as this Meri Seif Haus, is an important ingredient for healthy and strong communities. Our sincere thanks go to the Digicel Foundation for your support and we look forward to working with you in providing more communities in PNG with this much needed community service”.

Peter Aitsi, Chairman of the Digicel PNG Foundation concluded: “We are delighted to be officially launching our second Meri Seif Haus facility here at Kaugere today. We would like to especially thank our partners, Foursqaure Church, as without them this facility would not be able to operate. Through their expertise and their exisiting relationship with the Kaugere community they can help increase awareness about gender equality and domestic violence. We hope that this facility will help empower communities to protect women and children, which will in turn enable them to develop a positive outlook for their future”. 

To date the Digicel Foundation has funded 39 Community Learning Centres, five  primary school and six elementary school infrastructure projects, two Mobile Health Clinics and two Meri Seif Haus projects. The first Family Support Centre at Maprik District Health Centre, co-funded with UNICEF, has been completed and will be launched later this month. The Digicel Foundation is currently engaged in the construction of another five primary and four elementary school building projects, two Meri Seif Haus facilties and three Family Support Centre projects. The Digicel Foundation plans to fund the building of more women’s shelters throughout PNG over the next year, aiming to support communities as they hopefully become more self-reliant in the future. 

ENDS