ChildFund New Zealand CEO and team met
with Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele of Solomon Islands,
community leaders, and the Premier of the Provincial
government of Temotu the Honourable Stanley Tehi, to design
the next phase of clean water and nutrition projects funded
by the New Zealander public and the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade.
“Aid budgets are being cut
globally, and the impact of aid is being questioned.
Organisations like ChildFund must demonstrate how we make a
measurable difference with New Zealand’s aid,” says Josie
Pagani, CEO of ChildFund.
“Everything we do is led and
owned by local leaders, nationally and at the community
level, which gives our programmes the best chance of making
a long-term difference. Locals know their communities
best.”
Solomon Islands has one of the highest rates of
child stunting in the world, with one-third
of children under the age of five affected by stunting
(impaired physical growth and brain development) due to lack
of nutritious food during pregnancy and the first
year.
Too many children get sick, or worse, die from
diseases like dysentery from drinking unclean water. Infant
mortality rates are high. Eighteen out of
1000 children die before the age of five, compared with
about four
in every 1000 in New Zealand.
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“These statistics
are entirely preventable. With better access to clean water
and nutritious food, we can turn them
around.”
ChildFund is working with Greenergy Pacific,
its local partner in Temotu, to deliver clean water to 18
villages that have no access to running water at the
moment.
Prime Minister Hon. Jeremiah
Manele expressed gratitude to ChildFund New Zealand for its
continued support in addressing key development challenges
that remain critical in rural Solomon Islands, including
access to water, education, renewable energy, and skills
training.
ChildFund CEO and Greenergy
Pacific CEO, Sharon Inone, were also invited to attend the
opening Assembly (parliament) of the Provincial Government.
ChildFund is the first international NGO to be invited onto
the floor of the Assembly to sit with ministers and
MPs.
“This demonstrates the deep trust and commitment
to partnership between ChildFund and the Provincial
Government. We don’t arrive with a list of our own ideas.
We get behind the plans of the national and local
governments, and support local community organisations like
Greenergy Pacific to implement these water and food
projects.”
ChildFund’s work in Solomon Islands
includes the following:
- Rebuilding the Nembo
water pipe network in Temotu and replacing the broken diesel
generator with a solar-powered pump, to bring clean running
water to 18 villages - Working with local experts to
improve soil quality and grow diverse food crops in schools
and community gardens - Training counsellors and youth
workers to support mental health - Supporting local
groups in their campaign to make child marriage
illegal - Supporting a physical ‘women’s
refuge’, and a hotline for help, for those escaping
domestic violence
“This trip will help us to
design the next few years of activities, and expand our
clean water and nutrition projects to more villages, as well
as do more to support young people to upskill and generate
their own incomes. Knowing that we are aligned with the
Solomon Islands’ plans for its own development is what
will make these programmes successful.”
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