Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Solomon Islands
To’abaita Authority for Research and Development (TARD) Report
Some of the rural people who gathered at Malu’u to witness the handover ceremony
Compiled by:
Exsley Taloiburi (Mr)
TARD Technical Advisor/ Project Coordinator
University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
Phone: +61437642032
Email: tar_development@yahoo.com
Website: http://toabaita-authority.blogspot.com
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
4) The clinic committee, staff and community members of Malu’u Clinic who
have taken the initiative to prepare for our arrival to hand over the
incubator.
6) Mr Leliana Daowana Firisua and Michael Maena of the Small and Medium
Enterprises Council of Solomon Islands (SMEC) for their assistance of
SBD$1,500 cash donation to TARD to assist with freighting costs.
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1.0. PROJECT NARRATIVE SUMMARY
1.1. Introduction
The official request for the Infant Incubator equipment was made by TARD in
November 2006 after being notified by MAANZ that it was available in stock.
After that, TARD consulted with the clinic committee and nurses at Malu’u Clinic
and got their support to pursue such assistance, the first for Malu’u Clinic in
history.
Upon receipt of the TARD request, regular liaising was initiated via email
whereby TARD was informed that the request was accepted. As a result, the
incubator along with other general medical supplies was packed by a packaging
specialist company in Auckland known as “POPE PACKAGING” and later
delivered to the PFM Freight Company in Auckland for shipping to Honiara. The
total costs for packaging and shipping of the incubator from New Zealand to
Honiara was around NZD$571.80, which was initially covered by MAANZ on the
understanding that TARD would reimburse that cost.
The incubator reached Honiara at the end of January 2007 and was cleared by
TARD from Customs and temporarily stored at an authorised location in Honiara
awaiting transportation to North Malaita on June 11th 2007.
In addition, communities which utilize medical services at the Malu’u Area Health
Centre are mainly rural dwellers and “grassroot” people that depend entirely on
subsistence farming and fishing to earn at least a substandard living. They
usually sell the surplus fresh produce or fish catch at a very low price at the
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weekly rural markets. This is their only source of income since there are less
employment opportunities in the rural areas. With the small income they derive
from selling their farm produces and fish catches, they must ensure to support
their families in meeting basic needs such as paying school fees for their
children, decent clothing, basic health services, proper cooking utensils and
provision of food.
Malu’u Area Health Centre serves a total population of more than 21,000 people,
a drastic increase after the ethnic tension.
North Malaita
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Malu’u Clinic
• To enable people to value and care for their health facilities whilst
improving their awareness on the importance of good health. The
expected outcome was that it would ensure that future generations are
able to thrive and develop in our collective effort to help communities
become self-sustained.
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2.0. HOW TARD IMPLEMENTED THE PROJECT INITIATIVE
This infant incubator project was handed over to Malu’u Clinic by TARD on June
13th 2007 as a partnership initiative with the Medical Aid Abroad New Zealand,
particularly Dr Graeme Woodfield and his staff, and other generous stakeholders.
Ishmael Alulu of TARD collecting a donation of $1,500 from the SMEC Office in Honiara
After the incubator has arrived and was temporarily stored in Honiara, TARD
liaised with staff and committee members of the Malu’u Clinic to make
arrangement to receive the incubator from TARD. During that same period,
media publications were also made through the TARD website, Solomon Star
Newspaper and SIBC National radio. The TARD Chairman (Exsley Taloiburi) and
Project Coordinator also had to take voluntary leave from studies in Fiji and pay
for his own return air tickets to travel to Honiara just to coordinate the
implementation of this project along with another medical supplies project from a
non-government organisation in Australia known as AFAP.
On Monday, June 11th 2007, the incubator plus other medical supplies donated
by the Australian Foundation for Peoples of Asia and the Pacific (AFAP) were
shipped from Honiara to Auki (the capital of Malaita Province) in a vessel known
as MV Renbel. The ship reached Auki at around 0100 hours on Tuesday 12th
June 2007 morning and the total freight costs that was covered by TARD for the
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incubator and other AFAP donated medical supplies amounted to SBD$5,000.
Also, on that same Monday evening (June 11th 2007), a service message and
national news were aired through the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation
(SIBC) radio to aware the people of North Malaita and other Solomon Islanders
about this very crucial assistance from MAANZ and other donors.
The Infant Incubator Package being
loaded with other medical supplies
from AFAP in MV Renbel on its way
to Malaita with TARD volunteers.
The infant incubator from the Medical Aid Abroad New Zealand (MAANZ) along
with other general medical supplies from AFAP were handed over to the clinic
staff, committee members, chiefs and surrounding community representatives at
Malu’u on Wednesday June 13th 2007.
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The Infant Incubator being
loaded to be handed over to
Malu’u Clinic
The incubator from MAANZ (covered with black plastic in front of truck) with other medical
supplies from AFAP being loaded to be delivered to Malu’u Clinic
TARD Chairman Exsley Taloiburi (second from left) with Malu’u Clinic staff and Chairman
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The people who came to witness the handover ceremony in front of Malu’u Clinic
Excited North Malaita mothers who carry medical supplies plus the incubator into the
Malu’u Clinic
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3.0. SUCCESS OF THE MAANZ/TARD PROJECT INITIATIVE
L-R: Malaita Premier Richard Na’amo Ramosaea; Deputy Speaker and provincial member
for ward 6, Silas Talota; Deputy Premier and member for ward 8, Edwin Suibaea; Levi
Senly Filualea (Minister of Agriculture and member for ward 9); another un-named member
and TARD Chairman, Exsley Taloiburi (far right).
The genuine voluntary commitment, cooperation and hard work that TARD puts
into any community project that it pursues from the planning to implementation
phase, regardless of the fact the TARD is merely a student/youth volunteer
group, highlights the seriousness of the TARD membership in achieving its goals
and objectives.
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3.3. Encouraging financial support from various North Malaita leaders
TARD is a volunteer, non profit student/youth group that does not have access to
any administrative funding. It only relies on its student member contributions and
goodwill donations from various North Malaita leaders to ensure that its
community development projects are implemented successfully.
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