New volunteer program supports students at Motu Koita FODE Centre
Six days a week, you’ll find Hubert selling produce at his family’s stall in Hanuabada market. When he’s not there, he’s embracing his second chance at education as a student at the Motu Koita FODE Centre. A hardworking and diligent student, Hubert’s chances of upgrading his Grade 12 results to enter tertiary education have just received an incredible boost, with his introduction to a new mentor from Kina Bank’s Finance team.
Hubert is part of an innovative new employee volunteering program developed by KTF’s partners Kina Bank to support students at the Motu Koita FODE Centre, on the outskirts of Port Moresby. Kina Bank team members from a range of different areas of the business have volunteered to take valuable time out of their work day, with the company’s endorsement, to support Grade 10, 11 and 12 students undertaking their FODE studies via face-to-face or online mentoring.
Gavin Heard, GM Corporate Affairs & Investor Relations outlines how the initiative is key to their community support and the KTF partnership.
“At Kina Bank we have the best and brightest people in the business who are committed to supporting our communities. Through the mentor program, our staff provide one to one coaching to students helping them with their studies, assessments and to prepare for exams. They also share their experiences, stories and general life skills. It means that students have direct personal access to someone who has been through it all before and who can guide them on their path to success and help them reach their goals. It’s incredibly powerful.
“We know that access to education is a serious issue and together with KTF we can help address this. KTF are incredible partners to work with who do amazing work. We’re looking forward to strengthening this partnership. Our aim is to help create the workforce of the future so that our communities can thrive.”
After weeks of planning, matching, induction and logistics, volunteers and students were recently introduced to start coaching sessions in the lead up to exams in October.
Walter Korunkanjin, Kina Bank’s Payroll Manager mentors a Grade 11 Maths, Economics and Geography student: “It was rewarding to meet the mentees and learn how they had challenges in life and want to give it a second go in achieving their goals. I am really happy to be a mentor as this will enable me to make a difference in someone’s life.”
Walter and 16 other mentors will work with their students over the coming weeks, allocating their day of paid volunteering leave at mutually convenient times to focus on subjects key to their mentee’s assessment success. The skilled volunteering program provides a beneficial additional level of support to the students, helping them achieve their further education dreams in teaching and health work.
We’re incredibly proud and thankful to our friends at Kina Bank for their holistic support of the Motu Koita FODE Centre. From funding, to student resources and now sharing the incredible talent of their people, Kina Bank are partners to KTF in every sense of the word.