CARE’s work in the Solomon Islands is mainly through national partners with similar goals of eradicating widespread poverty.
CARE’s work in the Solomon Islands is to localise humanitarian response through Live & Learn, a partnership with municipal councils for disaster preparedness and response, with particular focus on at-risk groups.
Supporting women’s economic empowerment
For Honiara’s rapidly growing population, there are limited opportunities for formal sector employment and few programs supporting women in peri-urban communities’ informal economic activities.
In six communities around Honiara, women are supported through the Helpim Sista Project. The Helpim Sista Project is supported by the ANCP Pacific Partnerships for Gender Equality Program, which has the goal of strengthening women’s economic justice and contributing to a resilient civil society in the Pacific. In Solomon Islands, the project is implemented by CARE’s partner, Live and Learn Solomon Islands, and supports women by setting up savings groups, delivering training and providing resources which will help boost their income, as well as addressing structural barriers to gender equality which contribute to financial disadvantage. With improved financial independence, they will be better equipped to provide for their families’
needs.
CARE has helped kick-start women’s small businesses in GG Valley, Rock Valley, and Nine Ridge communities by delivering piglets, ovens, fabric and dyes.
Helpim Sista participants form savings groups and also receive training in family financial management approaches, leadership, mobile banking, and their chosen livelihoods activity.
Community leaders and participants from Nine Ridge noted that Helpim Sista is the first project providing opportunities for women to become economically independent and better able to support their families.
“This is a light, from Live & Learn. Nobody has done it…You are uplifting these women in Nine Ridge to do things for themselves. For so long we’ve been without support. We know that Australians still care for Solomon Islands women, and we won’t forget this support.” – Alison, a women’s leader from Nine Ridge.
Meet Shirley
Shirley Akwai lives in St Michaels Community with her husband who is a priest. She works hard to provide for her family. She started by feeding pigs to earn money, but due to her health condition, she has switched to making and selling ice blocks and cakes. Shirley has five children, all of whom are grown up, with some studying abroad and others working or married.
The community has grown rapidly since Shirley’s return to the town in 2015. Many struggle to find work and pay for their children’s school fees. Shirley joined a savings group to help cover her children’s school fees, and she hopes to encourage other women in the community to work together to improve their situation. School fees are the biggest expense for Shirley, and she prioritises saving money for her children’s education and building their family home.
“Life is hard in town, I can’t just sit and do nothing, so I feed the pigs. My husband (a priest) and I would feed 40-50 pigs when we moved back here, to help our family build our house, pay for school fees, and to help the ministry on Saints days for feasts. I am not that strong anymore, so I make a small amount of money selling ice blocks and cakes at schools. I also joined South Pacific Bank Development to get a loan for school fees for my children. I now feed only 10 pigs, which I can manage. The people in the community do other things too, but we need to work together. It is good that Live & Learn are here, so we can work together and do things as a group,” says Shirley.
Boosting climate change resilience and disaster-risk readiness
Disaster READY is a climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and resilience program which aims to strengthen the humanitarian response capacity of partner Live & Learn Solomon Islands and build relationships with national and provincial governments, schools and communities.
Live and Learn Environmental Education (LLEE) Solomon Islands will work with ten schools and ten communities to establish school and community Disaster Risk Committees (DRCs) and bolster local-level disaster management capacity in Honiara. DRCs will be trained in community-based disaster risk management, essential first aid and gender and disability inclusion. Schools and communities will also be supported to conduct risk-mapping exercises
The project is also supporting communities to develop Community Response Plans (CRPs) and establish appropriate and inclusive early warning systems to better prepare for natural disasters. DRCs will receive additional disaster and climate awareness training and have the opportunity to build practical evacuation and response skills through real-time disaster simulations.
CARE implements the program through two local partners in Solomon Islands including Live and Learn Solomon Islands (LLSI) and National Disability Forum of Solomon Islands (NDFSI) previously known as Disabled People Association of Solomon Islands (DPASI).
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