In a much-needed development for Mossman, plans for a after school childcare centre are finally becoming a reality, thanks to the dedication of the Uniting Church and its pastor Nadia Abraham. With the community in dire need of positive news, this initiative brings a ray of hope to Mossman residents.

Securing a Federal Government grant of $748,000, the community-minded church in Mossman is fulfilling a long-held dream of establishing a child-minding centre on their premises.

Pastor Abraham expressed the church's commitment to addressing the needs of working parents.

"It just made perfect sense to us to provide this service as people need to work and earn a living or study, but it’s very difficult for parents to find care for their children after school hours," the Pastor told Newsport.

The project, which has been in the works for over a year, signifies a significant milestone for the charitable church community. Pastor Abraham emphasised the church's unwavering dedication to the Mossman community.

"I was trusting all the time this would come through because it’s always about community for us."

New community hall and church upgrade

But that's not all. Alongside the after school childcare centre, plans are underway to replace the current community hall on the block with a brand new one, and an upgrade to the church itself is on the horizon.

Pastor Abraham believes these developments will positively impact the future of Mossman's youth, providing structured and safe care for children after school hours, thus potentially mitigating youth crime in the long term.

“I truly believe this will change the trajectory of the future for the young people here, the children at our centre will have that structured safe care here after school and they won’t be running around on the street aimlessly and doing the wrong thing,” she said.

With the Primary School right next door to the church they are perfectly positioned to make a difference.

Free hall on offer

The existing community hall, which has served the church community for decades, is set to be demolished to make way for the new developments.

However, there's an opportunity for interested parties to give the hall a new lease on life. The Uniting Church is offering the hall for free to anyone willing to relocate it to their own property.