ESHDP
Formulation Mission – Solomon Islands
17 Jan –
10 Feb 93
The ESHDP Suva
Team worked jointly with government and NGO counterparts from Solomon Islands
in undertaking all Mission activities.
Data gathering and individual consultations with relevant government
agencies and NGOs were conducted during the period 17 January to 04 February
for a rapid assessment of existing policies, plans, programmes and projects
which address the specific needs of disadvantaged communities and groups. See annex A for Persons Met.
The team visited Malaita province during the period to gather first-hand information on service delivery systems, local programmes and projects, as well as on opportunities for expanding outreach services for remote villages and women and youth groups.
A high-level
consultative meeting with government and NGO representatives was held on 05
February in Honiara to discuss the Mission’s findings and arrive at a consensus
for the country’s ESHDP strategy. See
annexes B & C for Agenda and List of Participants.
A number of
references were made available to the Mission by UNDP, UNICEF, ILO, UNFPA, WHO,
government agencies and NGOs in Solomon Islands, and other in-country resource
persons. See Annex D.
FINDINGS/ OBSERVATIONS
National Consultations
1.0
Education Sector
· During the 1960s, all the schools were run by the churches. In 1974, the government started to run primary schools. By 1975, the government was deeply involved in education, constructing buildings and sending children to schools under its own auspices.
· Education remains generally inadequate. Literacy rate is 22% (17% for women; 25% for men). Only half the children of school age actually enter school. Primarily due to lack of facilities, over half of the students are forced out after grade six, several hundreds after Form 3, with total young men and women aged 13 to 16 mostly. They return to their village regarded as failures. A few make it to the 500 jobs available yearly; most have to readjust to village life or they remain in Honiara and other provincial centers.
Rural Training Centers
· In response to the problem, churches and communities have over the years established rural training centers all over the country. These centers are in reality non-formal educational institutions supported by the sales of products from their training programs and other ancillary income generating projects. They also receive small government assistance ad voluntary donations.
· Of the 24 major RTCs, 21 are owned and managed by the country’s mainline churches; the 3 are run by communities. Most have evolved from being purely theological institutions to vocational training centers. All 24 centers are members of the newly-formed Association of Rural Training Centers. Some centers have a 15-year track record in vocational training. Sixteen of the 24 offer full three-year residential programmes. There is at least one such center in each province.
· There are 21 other centers that are in the process of becoming vocational training centers.
· All these centers provide an opportunity for school leavers to continue their education. The best centers have three to five applicants for every student place. In 1992, there were 1413 resident students enrolled in full-time vocational courses; 541 (38%) of these students were women. Short courses, on the other hand, were attended by 854 students, which included women.
· RTC courses include bookkeeping, hoe economics, mechanics, building/carpentry and joinery, first aid and village health, mobile saw milling, small business practices and in some cases, mathematics and English. Each student pays a fee of roughly SBD 120 per course.
· The RTCs have 161 staff directly employed in teaching. Around 50 additional staffs are involved in ancillary income generating projects to sustain the centers. Most centers follow-up on graduates for further training in business or involvement in community services.
· Since 1990, the Community Education Division of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development has been organizing meetings and seminars among the RTCs. An output of these activities was the creation in March 1992 of the Solomon Island Association of Rural Training Centers (SIARTC). Its constitution was drawn and subsequently ratified in June 1992. The Association has a Board, with representation from each RTC, a Steering Committee of Five members appointed by the Board, and a three-member secretariat, one of which is a VSO.
· Under the EC/Lome IV, a SBD 1.3 M grant will be extended initially in 1993 to the RTCs to upgrade their curricula and increase intake. The breakdown of EC assistance: curriculum development, 7%; revolving funds, 14%; workshops, 9%; materials and equipment, 18%; income generating activities, 14%; staff training, 38%.
Middle School
Another response to the problem of school push-outs is the Middle School, which will be started during the first quarter of this year by the Honiara Municipal Council. The course will be for 3 years and is designed to provide vocational skills. It will use classrooms unutilized during the afternoons and available teachers in the formal school system. The students will pay fees to help maintain the Middle School.
Distance Education
· Around two years ago, SICHE started a distance education programme. Its first course, the Adult Education Proficiency Award, includes teletutorials using the recently established Solomon Islands Distance Education Network (SIDEN). The network links a group of sites in Solomon Islands, each with special telecommunication equipment. SIDEN will also enable USP to communicate with its students in the provinces. The network has been made possible by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), a Commonwealth Agency based in Vancouver, Canada.
· In June, 1992, SICHE initiated a distance education course for development fieldworkers in the villages. It consist of a 15-day attendance in at the SICHE School of General Studies and 18 weeks of guided study through radio on basic facts about the country; history; development work and open learning tools; development case studies; and assessment of the course by the learners themselves.
· SICHE School of General Studies is setting up a Center for Community Education and Development Studies to institutionalize the close linkage of existing training programmes and community needs. The community itself becomes a vital resource which will enrich the content of training courses.
2.0
Youth and Sports
· The Ministry of Home Affairs employs a National Youth and Sports Coordinator with a counterpart in each province. Once a year, the coordinators meet for one-week training or orientation on how to carry out community activities. These activities are dominated by sports and clean up orientations involving the youth.
· At the time of the mission, the national youth and sports coordinator had just assumed his post. He was still looking for the hand-over notes of his predecessor. To his knowledge, there had been no formulated national youth programme.
· The National Youth Congress is also based at the Ministry. It was established as a quasi government organization through an act of Parliament in February, 1980. Its operations has been constrained by a tight budget. In fact, all its activities have been suspended on account of financial problems. It has been seeking funding assistance for: office equipment and transport; the rehabilitation of the Aruligo National Youth Training Center; training and development; income generating activities; volunteer services for communities; and the Youth Nius Letter.
3.0
Women’s Sector
· The National Council of Women, also based at the Ministry of Home Affairs, suspended its activities in 1991 due to some organizational problems. A general secretary had just been appointed during the time of the mission. The council is still undergoing a review of its role and functions.
· The Women’s Development Division has been based since 1989 at the Ministry of Health and Medical Services. It grew out of the old Women’s Interest Section. There was a time when it used to be part of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The main functions of the division are:
a) to encourage women to be involved in decision making within the government and the community;
b) to assist in information dissemination on gender-related issues; and
c) to facilitate training programmes.
· The Division has a Women’s Development Officer (WDO) in each province, except for Isabel, Choiseul and the new province of Belona and Rennel. The WDO conducts training as contained in the action programme or as requested by the community.
· In a year, depending on available funds, the WDD organizes one or two national workshops which include topics, such as women in business, food processing, or specific women’s projects. Its main concern at the moment is how to upgrade the status of WDOs so that their wage scale can be improved. The division will support initiatives from other sector or institutions towards this end.
· Current programmes include the New Zealand-funded Women’s Revolving Fund which gives SBD 300 to an individual or women’s group project; the Rural Women’s Skills Training Programme, also funded by New Zealand; and the Mere Made marketing Center now on its Phase II.
· WDD plans to build a Women’s Training Center for each province. The national policy on women has been drafted by a committee and submitted to Cabinet for approval.
· WDD sees the role of NWC mainly for awareness-building and to articulate women’s stand on issues.
4.0
Rural Development Centers
· The Ministry of Agriculture and Land has 7 rural development centers all in remote locations. At each center, facilities are provided for: housing, internal roads, storage, a meeting or lecture room farm demonstration plots and equipment; production, processing, storage, repair and maintenance facilities, farm equipment and rural transportation; transport infrastructure.
· A number of courses have been conducted in these RDCs for farmers and extension workers. Each center can offer residential training facilities for 20 participants. The center staff consists of 2 trainers and 4 non-training personnel. The centers are generally underutilized as far as training is concerned. It has opened its training facilities to other sectors, i.e. fishermen, women’s and youth groups, etc.
· MAL will use the centers in training women extension assistants. The program will start sometime during the year. It is a response to the fact that in the gardens, is some provinces, women and men are not allowed by local traditions to talk to each other. The extension workers are all men.
5.0
Project Development Unit
· PDU allocates SBD 3.4 M every year for projects. Identifying projects is not the problem. Project proposals are received from all the provinces, something like 300 a year, of which 120 can be appraised and less than 50% of the latter funded. PDU has to stop temporarily receiving proposals to cope with t he workload. PDU has only an 8-member staff.
· PDU resisted suggestions to apply a quota on either the amount of development assistance or number of projects for each province. The staff prefer assessing individual projects on their merit. Their main concern is that remote villages and atolls that are far from the center may not have information at all about possible development assistance or, if they do, nobody is around to help them prepare a proposal.
· The PDU staff have no way of knowing that a project proposal submitted from the outer islands will be the best at the moment for a given village or group. They can take it only in good faith in the absence of any development plan or profile. It has been noted that some proposals from the provinces are written on stationeries of Honiara-based associations, indicating that the proposals have been prepared in the capital by supportive wantoks probably. Again, PDU has no way of checking that the proposed projects respond to priority needs in a particular community.
· Steps have been taken lately to monitor funded projects. PDU will soon hire a project monitoring officer. The Ministry of Provincial Government (MPG) has allocated funds to the provinces for the monitoring of projects.
· PDU has encouraged co-financing projects with the Development Bank of Solomon Islands (DBSI). PDU usually funds the equity required in securing loan for income generating projects. It has also directed more assistance to funding social services projects, e.g. clinics, schools, roads, etc. PDU is also guided by donor preferences.
· For the longer term, PDU sees that the provinces will have to go back to preparing development plans to be able to prioritize projects. At present, sectoral officers assigned at Area Council level have a very active role in identifying and appraising projects. Sectoral agencies have also a strong presence in the Provincial Screening Committee. Streamlining the system is needed to have a clear framework for matching project ideas with community needs.
· PDU has virtually no role in those projects to be funded under the SBD 100,000 fund given each MP. For those projects drawn up by line ministries and the provinces and proposed for funding from bilateral sources, PDU is expected to undertake the economic appraisal. For some projects, consultants of donor agencies themselves conduct the appraisal. PDU is responsible for ensuring that development assistance is rationalized so that duplication of efforts is avoided. There is no mechanism in place to enable PDU to discharge this function. Hence, aside from the tremendous volume of work in appraising projects, PDU has to contend with some basic weaknesses in the system if it has to perform its tasks effectively.
· PDU at the moment needs assistance:
a) to evaluate previously implemented and on-going projects;
b) to formulate a monitoring and evaluation system based on lessons learnt; and
c) to streamline the project appraisal, submission and approval process.
6.0
Solomon Islands Christian Association
· SICA was organized almost two years ago as an ecumenical entity composed of the country’s major religions: Church of Melanesia, Roman Catholic Church, South Seas Evangelist Church, United Church of Solomon Islands and the Seventh Day Adventists. Its functions include formulation of joint policy statements on major issues and coordination of activities, which may include fundraising and development activities.
· The Executive Committee meets once a month; a full-time Executive Secretary holds office at the SICA headquarters to run day-to-day affairs. SICA rents out office spaces to religious organizations. Its immediate plan includes further developing the real estate property in Honiara so more rooms and offices can be made available as revenue sources.
· SICA is in the process of setting up a Youth Desk and a Women’s Desk. These desks will coordinate the various women and youth groups formed by the churches.
7.0
Fisheries Programmes
· There is a Fisheries Center for each province manned by a Senior Fisheries officer. A provincial center can have 2 or 3 subcenters to link up with more fishermen in the area. The staff for a subcenter consist of a Fishery Extension Worker on detail from the Fisheries Division and employees from the province.
· The SICHE School of Marine Sciences conducts two training courses a year: a six-week course for extension workers and selected fishermen from the provinces and six-week management course for senior fisheries officers.
· Last year, the Fisheries Division conducted a week’s course for women belonging to the SDA church mostly on simple bookkeeping and basic technical skills for subsistence fishing. There is no plan to hire women extension assistants. Last year, the Division recommended the hiring of a woman training officer, but was not approved by the Public Service Division.
· The Division submits project requests directly to bilateral agencies. EC will fund rehabilitation of fishing centers in Choiseul, Gaudalcanal and Russel Island, while the Overseas Fisheries Cooperation Foundation of Japan will set up satellite centers I the northern part of Malaita.
· Fisheries extension workers have not assisted fishermen and local communities identify projects. Current training courses can still accommodate modules to train extension workers on project identification and preparation.
8.0
Environment and Conservation Division
· The division has just been reorganized. It now consists of a 3-member staff, which include an AVA volunteer.
· Solomon Islands has formulated a National Environmental Management Strategy with assistance from SPREP. The division has only one copy of the document. The staff is seeking funding to make more copies for distribution to agencies and NGOs.
9.0
Non-governmental Organizations/DSE/PIANGO
· The country has a strong NGO community. Some 60 NGOs operate in Solomon Islands; they are mostly church-based and of the service delivery type, rather than community organizing or empowerment NGOs.
Solomon
islands Development Trust (SIDT)
· Founded in 1981, SIDT is easily the country’s most popular NGO. Its Constitution states:
“All money or other property rested in the board under section 5 shall be held in Trust for providing financial assistance to the people of Solomon Islands in the field of training and in the promotion and development of skills, village industries and crafts, urban development, upgrading of health and sanitation, nutrition, women in development, and such other projects from time to time requested by the trustees for uplifting the health and socio-economic quality of lives of the population.”
· Its 1991 expenditures reached SBD 821,642 or roughly US$ 250.000. The funding sources, by sector: government, 31.2%; nongovernment, 59.6%; and own sources, 9.2%.
· By country, the sources were:
Netherlands (Interchurch Coordinating Committee for Development; Dutch Bishop’s Lenten Campaign) – 30%;
Australia (Overseas Service Bureau; Australia Board Mission; Freedom from Hunger Campaign; Community Aid Abroad) – 14%;
European
Community (European Economic Community) – 27%;
United Kingdom (Christian Aid) – 4%;
Belgium (bishop’s Campaign) – 2%;
Germany (Brot Fur Welt) – 3%;
United States (Green Peace) – 2%;
Canada (Canadian High Commission; Anglican Church of Canada) – 9%; and
Solomon Islands, SIDT – 9%
· Practically all major development programmes (environment and reforestation; population education; rural water supply and sanitation; disaster awareness and preparation, etc.) have a linkage with SIDT.
· SIDT’s core strategy is to recruit and train school pushouts from the villages as its main outreach arm. The Mobile Team Members or MTMs are actually the cadres who link up development programmes to the village people. They are trained to use SIDT’s open-learning tools, i.e. the Development Wheel, the village Quality of Life Index, Past/Now/Future Exercise and the Village Economic Resource Base “to draw out facts and information already in the heads and hearts of villagers.”
· The MTMs, who now number 300 grouped into 75 teams, have conducted over the last 10 years a total of 4300 workshops. The use of mobile teams has been complemented in recent years by other innovative approaches: the publication of bi-monthly Link magazine (1987) distributed to villagers, secondary schools and national training institutions; a village theater group, SEI!, which acts out serious development, social, cultural and environmental problems; and use of comics in Pidgin-English to convey information.
· The SIDT head supports the idea of documenting the organization’s experiences and assessing the effectiveness of the tolls used for wider dissemination to other NGOs and government agencies. A key area of interest will be to determine how its issue-oriented organizing approach, determined largely by specific programmes, can lead to the villager’s total understanding of their own situation and thus catalyze sustained community actins on locally-perceived problems.
Development
Services Exchange
·
DSE was funded in 1985 to serve as umbrella body for
all the NGOs. A Secretariat was set up
with funding support from IHAP, the Interchurch Coordinating Organization and
the Overseas Service Bureau. In 1986,
in the wake of cyclone Namu, DSE coordinated the work of individual
organizations for the distribution of disaster relief.
· Its constitution was adopted in 1987. DSE seeks to :
v disseminate information about the work of member organizations and the services available for exchange among members, and to government and the community in general;
v provide training for NGO workers;
v liaise with government on behalf of the NGOs;
v assist member organizations and government carry out specific tasks for which existing provisions are inadequate;
v relate the country’s NGO work to that in other countries through affiliation with international and regional institutions.
· A four-member secretariat, which includes a VSO, runs day-to-day activities under the direction of the Management Committee. There are subcommittees on projects, twining and disaster.
· During the past two years, funding has been provided DSE by the following: ICCO, for core costs; ADRA, nutrition workshop and NGO directory; World Vision, nutrition workshop; Australian High Commission, weather coast disaster; FSP (Aust), computer networking workshop; Commonwealth Foundation, NGO building; People of Jersey, NGO building; CUSO, provincial workshop programme and Pijin project; UNDP, provincial workshop programme; British High Commission, rural training center project; VSO, VSA and AVA, for Pijin project; Pacific Conservation and Nature Trust, environment workshop; AODRO, disaster awareness workshop; and Canada Fund, video player and camera.
· A few region NGOs pay DSE for services carried out in-country which help the organization cover administrative costs. DSE has recently established partnership with Nature Conservancy, through which a project officer has been seconded to DSE. An Environmental Education Officer has been employed to train NGO members. DSE’s Environmental Training Programme is jointly funded by TNC and SPREP.
Pacific
Island Association of Non-government NGOs (PIANGO)
· The organization of a coordinating body for NGOs in the region became an offshoot of a networking movement started by FSP affiliates in 1984, and by the commonwealth Foundation, which had been setting up Commonwealth Liaison Units (CLUs) among NGOs in the Pacific. In 1987, it was agreed that a regional organization to be called PIANGO Steering Committee and the NGO Management Network, and independent body organized in Geneva in 1986 to facilitate appropriate management services for grassroot community organizations worldwide.
· With assistance from the NGO Management Network, the PIANGO Steering Committee conducted as series of management workshops among national NGOs in late 1990 and 1991. In August, 1991, more than 60 NGO delegates from 22 Pacific countries attended a meeting in American Samoa where the establishment of PIANGO was formally endorsed and guidelines for PIANGO operations set. The PNG NLU has been assigned to draft the constitution.
· The PIANGO Secretariat is currently based in Honiara because the chairperson is from Solomon Islands. It will be transferred to the country of the next chairperson, which will be selected during the regional meeting in Tahiti scheduled in 1994. a volunteer from the Overseas Service bureau is on detail to the Secretariat. Administrative costs are paid from the dues of member organizations.
· Its current programme initiatives include the Pacific NGO Environmental Programme. PIANGO’s Environment Committee is composed of representatives from Australia’s Council for Overseas Aid; La Vaomatu, American Samoa; Pacific Island Resource Management; SIDT; and ULN Haiti, Tahiti.
Auki,
Malaita
1.
SIDT field Operations
· The Mobile Team Members (MTMs) comprise the outreach arm of the SIDT in the villages. For North Malaita, there are 19 MTMs, with a member assigned to one or two villages. There are 9 women members.
· The North Malaita MTMs operate in 5 teams. The team leader’s home is designated as a Center, usually its meeting place. There is one Field Officer and one Training Officer for all teams.
· The field Officer handles all administrative matters and acts as overall coordinator. He presides during general meetings. Each team member receives SBD 110.00 each month for 10 days or work.
· To qualify as MTM, a potential candidate has to attend a total of 9 workshops. Topics include: logging issues; population resource conservation; improving standard of living through the Village Quality of Life Index; house improvement; construction of slab toilets; and kitchen gardening.
· During the time of the Mission’s visit, the team was holding an evaluation meeting on 1992 operations. One resolution was to put on hold all training activities for 1993 and for each ember to concentrate on a particular village. The plan is to focus on improving sanitation for the first 4 months of 1993.
· During the two-hour session with the Mission, the MTMs identified the following as needs:
v how to guide the community to find alternative sources of income as encouragement to stop destructive logging;
v how to support women and youth projects, e.g. provision of sewing machines;
v how to guide the community to identify its priority problems first before going to projects;
v how to sustain community interest in development issues.
2.0 Development
Administration at Provincial Level
· As the Acting Provincial Secretary perceives it, majority of the people are disadvantaged by: geography; limited access to food, particularly during lean months (period of cyclones, westerlies, drought, etc.); illiteracy; erosion and other environment-related problems. But the most prevalent form of being disadvantaged, he says, is “not being informed” about available services or development assistance. Most villages are reached only by footpath.
· The national government has devolved many central functions to the provincial government in an effort to extend services to as many people as possible. Malaita has 41 wards, each ward comprising 40 to 50 villages. There are 5 Area councils, each with a president and elected councilors. The Area Council prepares its own budget for submission to the Executive Committee of the Provincial Assembly, composed of ward representatives.
· The area councils are backstopped by administrative substations of the provincial government. An administrative officer is on detail from the provincial office at each of these substations, which serve also as the base of the various sectoral agencies in the area: education, agriculture, health, etc.
· Each council also receives project proposals from groups or organizations within its area of responsibility. No appraisal of projects is done at this level. All project proposals must be endorsed by the chief, who represents all the village chiefs, at the Area Council.
· Personnel of sectoral agencies help community groups identify projects. They also assist in appraising projects. There are 25 national officers (health educators, agricultural extension officers, business development officers) seconded to the province. In addition, the province has 4 US Peace Corps volunteers assigned as Community Development officers in each substation working with fisheries, agriculture, etc. There are Japanese volunteers in the health sector.
· The projects are appraised by the provincial screening committee, composed of all division heads. The committee is mandated to reject projects, refer them back to proponents for revision or forward them to the Project Development Unit of the Ministry of Provincial Government where they are again appraised and, if approved, referred to the appropriate funding source.
· The provincial secretary says response to a proposal normally takes 1 to 2 years and oftentimes proponents do not get any notice of any action taken on their proposals. He says community groups go directly to the churches, which course proposals to NGOs, and they get faster results. According to him, PDU has only 6 to 8 desk officers processing hundreds of proposals from all the provinces. Sometimes, “complicated” donor requirements could also delay response.
· The Assistant Health Inspector says the Environmental Health Division is headed by the Inspector and aside from them, there are 3 direct employees or non-established employees” from the provincial government. These health assistants accompany them in going to the villages. At each village, they contact the chief, then a meeting with the community is arranged. Both men and women attend this meeting. The topics discussed include: drainage, garbage disposal, and other sanitation-related topics. The number of toilets needed is determined. Cost estimates are made and funding resists or proposals are sent to the PDU. The division prepares and sends these proposals on behalf of the village. The staff can cover only the villages in Auki. She says the health educators in the substations take care of the sanitation campaign in the other villages.
· She says it usually takes one year for the PDU to respond. When materials arrive, the division staff go back to the village; transport is built into the cost. The community provides labor. The staff supervise the construction.
· The livestock officer says his function was not devolved to the provincial government; hence, he could not request for transport. All he could do is walk around nearby villages 9estimated as within a 6-km radius from his office) and promote small holder cattle raising. He also encourages families to raise pigs, but few respond due to the high cost of feeds.
· A source of funding for protects is the $50,000.00 to $100,000.00 to dispose as source of funding for community-identified projects. He sees the need for having a basic development plan for the wards and villages as a way to prioritized projects. During the time of the Mission, he was in the process of organizing is constituency (Pop.: around 8,000) into the Aoke/Langa Development Congress. The Development congress will have the following functions:
v plan and coordinate development in the constituency;
v promote cooperation among all interested groups in the constituency as well as cooperation with interested groups in other constituencies;
v oversee the utilization of available resources for constituency and community development;
v encourage individual and communal initiatives in all spheres of development; and
v provide good leadership in development activities.
A regional council will be established for its cluster of villages. Each village, in turn, will have its own committee with a chairman, secretary and treasurer elected by the village community.
The planed 5 regional councils will decide on village programmes and projects and coordinate implementation. The village committees will set the priority projects and formulate Village Improvement programs.
· The MP says the Development Congress will not be a government entity, but rather a “creation of the people.”
· An important resource in the province is the National Agricultural Training Institute. Its administration has been recently transferred from the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands to SICHE. On its 75-ha. campus, it trains farmers, as well as all the agriculture field personnel and extension workers. Its training staff serve as resource persons to the various Rural Development Centers.
· The adjoining 25-ha. area is actually a Farmers Training Center. It is a demonstration area for appropriate farming technologies.
3.0 Village-level
Development
· The East Kwaio Women’s Fellowship association had a simple beginning. It started with 28 women attending a 5-day workshop in 1987 “with two women volunteers from New Zealand,” whose names they could not even recall. The volunteers said they would return, and when they did not come back after three months, someone suggested from among the trainees that the women might as well follow on their own what they learned from the twining.
· Each woman initially contributed $10.00 for common fund, which eventually grew to $500.00. They built a small food shop, a canteen. The fund increased, and in 1989, the group started lending money at 5% interest. By this time, the membership had swelled to 37 divided into 4 groups.
· Its first activity was the building of the three-room clubhouse which was completed in 1990. The SCF donated a sewing machine; earnings from sewing went to pay for the labor. The Women’s Development Division gave $1600 for building materials. Now it serves as canteen, office and multipurpose room (for meetings, sale of handicraft, etc.).
· In 1986, soon after Cyclone Namu, the group received iron Sheets from the national government. Until now, they have not used the iron sheets; they need petrol for the chainsaws so timber could be cut.
· The group’s leader was trained under the MCH programme early last year. The group soon after implemented a program for mothers and infants. Every two months, mothers, including non-members, bring their babies to the clubhouse. A panel selects 6 to 7 healthy babies and their mothers given prizes.
· The group could not recall any visit from the agriculture assistant. All they remember was that they talked to the livestock officer last year to seek advice for a poultry project. He made them a sketch for a poultry house.
· The group uses the health clinic in a nearby village. The problem is that the site has been under land dispute. The group is now looking for a suitable site within the village.
· Loans from the revolving fund have gone mostly for tuition fees. Only members could borrow. As of now, there are 7 women from the village who are non-members. Their husbands did not allow them to join.
· They have submitted project proposals to SIDT (for petrol to run the chainsaws); to their MP (for a consolidated fund to help single mothers and youth groups); and to the provincial government (to have piped water system). One school teacher helps them prepare project proposals. The group members all belong to the South Seas Evangelist Church. The church leaders and the chief encourage them in their activities. To reach Auki, the women have to travel 2 to 3 hours by boat from their village and 2 ˝ hours by bus to the center.
Amukelo
Village
· The village belongs to Ward 4. With more than 1000 population, it is considered the most populated ward of North Malaita. Because it was getting too crowded, the Elifau clan decided a year ago to split off from it and formed two other villages: Ngalikwailasi, with 42 people; and Osinako, with 20 people.
· The SIDT center for North Malaita is located in Ngalikwailasi. It is actually the Field Officer’s home. The village sells bananas and vegetables either at Auki market, which is most three hours by truck, or at roadside stalls. No agricultural worker has visited the village. The residents instead go to the province-owned Dala Farm, more than 10 kilometers away, to seek technical advice. Practically all members of the household are involved in garden activities. It takes almost an hour to reach the gardens up the mountain.
· Except for a member of the clan who is a nurse, no health worker has visited the area. There may be no need for it because the clinic is in a nearby village. All the children were brought to the clinic for immunization. Each child has a growth chart, but the mothers seemed not to understand it. The most common diseases are malaria (a child can get sick of it 3 to 4 times a year); diarrhea; and respiratory track infection. Every house has a toilet. Water reaches the village through the gravity-fed piped system.
· A women’s group has been set up for all the female members of the clan. There are 4 school leavers among the members.
· Four families live in Osinako. Their main activity is working on the family gardens, also up the mountain. The women are engaged in handicraft, both for their own use or for selling to nearby villages.
· In these villages, most people believe in spirits. Each clan knows the Kastom priest from whom people seek advice.
National
Agricultural Training Institute
· NATI is in North Malaita. On its 75-ha. site are dormitories and other training facilities and demonstration areas for farming technologies. A 25-ha. farm run by agriculture extension services is adjacent to the site.
· Regular courses each year are run here for agriculture extension workers, field officers and assistants. During June and July, NATI provides lecturers to RDCs, which conduct courses for farmers and occasionally, women and youth groups.
ANNEX A
Persons Met
Mission to Solomon Islands
17 Jan – 10 Feb 93
1. Mr. Shadrack Fanega
Undersecretary for Economic Planning
MFEP
2. Mr. Evans Tugahenga
Senior Planning Officer
MFEP
3. Mr. Nicolas Kikini
Programme and Finance Officer
SIDT
4. Mr. Jack Watealaha
Acting Provincial Secretary
Auki, Malaita
5. Mr. Joseph Wahananiu
Livestock Officer for Malaita
6. Mr. Eddie Elifau
SIDT Field Officer
Malaita
7. SIDT Mobile Team Members
Ř David Naeti - Kemuel Kitofu
Ř Liza - Elizabeth Osi
Ř Christina - Evangeline
Ř Janet - Samson Anisi
Ř Eddie Fori - Michael Baite
Ř Abraham
8. Ms. Onex Oiferu
President
East Kwaio Women’s Fellowship Association
9. Mr. Adriel Elifau
Chief
Ngalikwailasi Village
10. Ms. Mary Selo
Chairperson
Ngalikwailasi Women’s Group
11. Ms. Grace Alani
Secretary
Ngalikwailasi Women’s Group
12. Ms. Ethel Elomae
Treasurer
Ngalikwailasi women’s Group
13. Mr. Henry Gwao
Farm Manager
National Agricultural Training Institute
14. Ms. Ella Rizhold
Asst. Health Inspector
Auki, Malaita
15. Dr. John Roughan
Head
SICHI School of General Studies
16. Mr. Abraham Baenisia
Director
SIDT
17. Mr. John Erick
Youths and Sports Coordinator
Ministry of Home Affairs
18. Ms. Alice Puia
General Secretary
National Council of Women
19. Ms. Alice Pollard
Senior women’s Development officer
Women’s Development Division
Ministry of Health and Medical Services
20. Mr. Moses Rahari
Coordinator
Non-Formal Education Unit
Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development
21. Mr. Snyder Rini
Permanent Secretary
MFEP
22. Mr. George Kiriau
Director
Agriculture Management Support Unit
Ministry of Agriculture and Lands
23. Mr. Hugh Wheatley
Chief of UN/Americas Section
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Relations
24. Hon. Francis J. Saemala
MP for Central Malaita
25. Mr. Johnson Airau
Director
Project Development Unit
26. Mr. Gabriel Taloikwai
Director
SICHE
27. Mr. Ian Hind
Deputy Director
SICHE
28. Mr. Wainga Tion
Executive Director
SICA
29. Mr. Kitchener Collinson
Senior Fisheries Officer
Ministry of Natural Resources
30. Mr. Moises Biliki
Chief Environmental Officer
MNR
31. Mr. Bernard Telei
Senior Environmental Officer
32. Ms. Judith Siota
General Secretary
DSE
33. Mr. Jemuel Laumalefo
Chairperson
DSE
34. Mr. Charles Kelly
Vice Chaiperson
DSE
35. Mr. Allan Teli
Coordinator
Solomon Islands Association of Rural Training Centers
36. Mr. Eddie Rogi
Assistant Coordinator
SIARTC
37. Ms. Ruth Hollies
VSO with SIARTC
38. Ms. Ruby Titiulu
Asst. Secretary
Policy Evaluation Unit
ANNEX B
CONSULTATIVE MEETING ON
PROPOSED STRATEGIES FOR SOLOMON ISLANDS FOR THE UNDP-ASSISTED REGIONAL
PROGRAMME ON EQUITABLE AND SUSTAINABLE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
DATE : 05 February 1993
TIME : 2:00 PM
VENUE : Members Club
Mendana Hotel
A G E N D A
1.0 Introductory Remarks
Mr. Shadrack Fanega
Undersecretary for Economic Planning
Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning
2.0 Orientation on the Human Development Approach and Overview of Equitable
and Sustainable Human Development Programme (ESHDP)
Mr. Jeff Liew
Coordinator
ESHDP Formulation Team
3.0 Discussion on the Proposed Strategies
Moderator:
Mr. Shadrack Fanega
Undersecretary for Economic Planning
MFEP
ANNEX C
Participants consultative
Meeting
05 Feb 93 – Mendana Hotel
Honiara, Solomon Islands
1. Dr. John Roughan
Head
SICHE School of General Studies
Tel. 30796
2. Mr. Gabriel Taloikwai
Director
SICHE
Tel. 30111
3. Mr. Abraham Baenisia
Director
SIDT
Tel. 20031/23409
4. Mr. John Erick
Youth, Sports and Women Coordinator
Ministry of Home Affairs
5. Ms. Alice Puia
General Secretary
National Council of Women
Tel. 21621 Ext. 16
6. Dr. Ezekiel Nukuru
Undersecretary
Ministry of Health and Medical Services
Tel. 20830
7. Mr. Moses Rahari
Coordinator
Non-Formal Education Unit
Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development
Tel. 23900
8. Mr. Johnson Saunana
Undersecretary for Human Resources Development
Ministry of Education and HRD
Tel. 23900 Ext. 213
9. Ms. Phyllis Taloikwai
Permanent Secretary
Ministry Home Affairs
Tel. 23171
10. Mr. Jemuel Laumalefo
Chairperson
Development Services Exchange
Tel. 23760
11. Mr. Wainga Tion
Executive Secretary
SI Christian Association
Tel. 23350
12. Mr. Allen Tili
Coordinator
SI Association of rural Training Centers
Tel. 23760
13. Ms. Ethel Sagimanu
Deputy Director
BAMB
Ministry of Provincial Government
Tel. 23111
14. Ms. Ruby Titiulu
Assistant Secretary (Economics)
Policy Evaluation Unit
Office of the Prime Minister
Tel. 21590
15. Mr. Henry Isa
Deputy Director
Environment Conservation Division
Ministry of Natural Resources
Tel. 21521
16. Ms. Finganganofo
Undersecretary
Ministry of commerce and Primary Industries
Tel. 21864
17. Mr. Daniel E. Kwanairara
Deputy Commissioner of Forest
Ministry of Natural Resources
Tel. 21521
18. Mr. Shadrack Fanega
Undersecretary for Economic Planning
MFEP
Tel. 23700/23925
19. Mr. Evans Tuhagenga
Senior Planning Officer
MFEP
Tel. 23700/23925
20. Ms. Agnes Akwai
General Secretary
SI Red Cross
Tel. 22682
21. Mr. Nicolas Kikini
Programme and Finance Officer
SIDT
Tel. 21130/21131
22. Ms. Sholeh Boyle
Executive Committee Member
DSE
Tel. 23760
23. Mr. Newton Galo
Community Services Director
Dorcas Society
SDA
Tel. 21191
24. Mr. Eddie Rogi
Assistant Coordinator
Tel. 23760
25. Mr. Jeff Liew
Project Coordinator
UNDP/ESHDP
Suva, Fiji
Tel. 300-399
26. Dr. Nestor Pestelos
UNDP/ESHDP
Suva, Fiji
Tel. 300-399
ANNEX D
1.
Solomon Islands People’s Alliance Party Government
Programme of Action 1989 – 1993
July 1989
2.
The Public Service Structural and Internal
Adjustments
(Ministerial Implementation Guideline)
Office of the Prime Minister
November 1990
3.
Country Human Development Indicators – Solomon
Islands
Human Development Report
1992
4.
Fifth Country Program for the Solomon Islands
17 March 1992
5.
Initial Summary Report on the Main Issues,
Strategies and Policies
John Rofeta
29 May 1992
6.
A Situation Analysis of Women and Children
Government of Solomon Islands
UNICEF
July 1992
7.
Women in Development: Solomon Islands
Asian Development Bank
November 1990
8.
National Regional Report of the Solomon Islands
Ministry of Economic Planning
August 1988
9.
Development Estimates
Solomon Islands
1993
10.
Directory of Non-Government and Voluntary
Organizations in Solomon Islands
Development Services Exchange
1989
11.
The Solomon Islands Economy
Prospects
for Stabilization and Sustainable Growth
AIDAB
November 1991
12.
Solomon Islands 1991 – 1994 Program Plan
CUSO
1991
13.
Solomon Islands Country Report
DSE
February 1993
14.
The Formation of PIANGO
PIANGO
1991
15.
PIANGO LINK
April/May 1992
16.
SIDT’s
Village Outreach Programme
1990 – 1992
SIDT
1990
17.
SUMMARY
REPORT
SIDT 10 TH
ANNIVERSARY
SIDT
1991
18.
Annual
Report
Central Bank of Solomon Islands
1991
19.
Country
Economic Memorandum Solomon Islands
World Bank
August 1984
20.
The Congress
of the Aoke/Langa Langa Constituency
Auki, Malaita
August 1992
21.
Transformational Development
SICHE School of General Studies
1992
22.
Choices In
Development
Case
Studies from Solomon Islands
World wildlife Fund
1990
23.
Solomon
Island Programme Plan of Operations
UNICEF
1992
24.
1993 Work
Programme
Solomon Islands Association of Rural Training Centers
1993
25.
September Newsletter
SIARTC
1992
26.
Solomon Islands College of Higher Education
General Handbook
1992
27.
Solomon Islands Women’s News
Ministry of Health and Medical Services
December 1992
28.
Mere Save
SIDT
Oct – Nov 1992
29.
Solomon Islands Country Statement
Seminar on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
1992
30.
Proposed UNFPA Assistance for South Pacific
Population
Programme (1992-1996)
UNFPA
October 1991
31.
Draft Project Request from the Government of Solomon
Islands to the United Nations Population Fund (1990 – 1994)
Government of Solomon Islands
UNFPA
32.
1991 Annual Report and 1992 Annual Work Plan –
Health Education Division
Ministry of Health and Medical Services
1992
33.
1992 Work Programme
Rural
Health Project
Ministry of health and Medical Services
February 1992
34.
Final Report
South
Pacific Literacy Project
Phase I
International Literacy Year National Grants
31 December 1990
35.
Joint Review of the Solomon Islands Rural Water
Supply and Sanitation Program
Working Papers
1992
36.
Project Proposal Rural Water And Sanitation
1991 – 1996
Government Ministry of Health and Medical Services
January 1991
37.
Increasing Pacific Women’s Access to Vocational
Training and Trades (RAS/88/W01 – RAS/91/A02)
Lessons
Learnt
Module/ Erma Flores Arias
ILO Office for the South Pacific in Suva
December 1992
38.
Mere Made marketing and Training Center
Honiara,
Solomon Islands
Findings of
a Feasibility Study
Women’s Development Division
Ministry of Health and Medical Services
39.
South Pacific Project for EMPLA
Project
Implementation Proposal
ILO
June 1991
40.
Promotion and Development of Small and Medium Scale
Industries
/Terminal Report
UNIDO
1992