Strong Island Foundation | Businesses

Strong Island Foundation

Address: Kirakira, Makira, Solomon Islands

Website: http://strongislandfoundation.com.au

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25.01.2022 Our workshops and disease surveillance data shows the respiratory disease is the most common illness amongst adults. When Dani and Bernice spent time with the w...omen cooking each day, both of them suffered headaches and illnessd from smoke inhalation. The women in the Torah community are accustomed to cooking in enclosed leaf huts and do not get headaches. However, long term exposure results in an increased susceptibility to lung problems. David Nunn, from Pacific Koha, our partner in this WaSH project has organised for us to trial some newly developed, small, solar assisted burners, which produce less smoke and only requires minimal fuel in the form of coconut husks. We look forward to trying them next year. The beauty of a small organisation is that we are not constricted by the goals of a large organisation and we can identify local issues and gain assistance and partnerships with other small organisations.

24.01.2022 Introducing dahl, vegetable soup, and damper to Torah Community in Solomon Islands. Why? When volunteers come over, we don't want them to deplete the families' ...food. There are no markets to buy food near the Torah Community. Each family has their own gardens, where they grow enough food for their own family. Solomon Islanders do not usually eat lunch, and preparation of a large lunch interferes with their daily duties. The Food Hygiene team took over dahl, dehydrated vegetables and flour. Damper and vegetable soup for lunches is hydrating, nutritious and filling for volunteers and tourists, and is easy to prepare. Dahl with dehydrated vegetables is a good addition to dinners and reduces the burden on the families' gardens.

23.01.2022 After our workshop in Torah last year, which included subjects on water conservation and management, a few families decided to install taps by their houses. Thi...s is not always easy to do. The new taps and pipes are often connected with whatever they have access to, there inevitably will be issues with leaks. This leads to a lot of water being wasted over time, which can cause other water points around the community to go without. This is why a complete new gravity-fed water system is needed, with larger pipes that properly connected together, so that water can be properly managed and used by the whole community.

18.01.2022 To donate go to http://www.strongislandfoundation.com.au/donate-to-torah-w/

17.01.2022 Torah WaSH project is back on track, after COVID-19 lock down halted our progress. The shipping container is now all packed and ready to leave for Honiara. We ...still need to purchase two large water tanks and building materials for the project in Honiara and are seeking further donations. We would deeply appreciate any donation small or large, so we are ready to install the system once the international borders open. https://torahwash.org/donate-2/ Our deepest gratitude to all the donors who have made this possible and to Alastair Hodgkinson from The Watershed for undertaking the mammoth task of putting this together.

17.01.2022 Think about not having water for 1.5 days... in hot humid conditions. Stored water is reserved for drinking and food preparation. Washing clothes and yourself... is not possible, but skin infections develop rapidly in these conditions, water is a basic necessity. The Torah Community frequently have days, and even weeks, without water. During our last stay in the community, we discovered the impact of having no water for 1.5 days, and learnt that maintaining health is extremely difficult in these conditions. Realistically, we need to implement a reliable water supply before there is any hope for improvement in hygiene and health.

14.01.2022 There is no plumber here, no access to spare parts, and limited tools. Proper maintenance and repairs are not possible. One of the local village leaders, Fortu...nas, has been given the task by the community to keep the water flowing as best he can. He uses what he can find to fix leaks, such as some spare PVC pipe and bike tyre tube. Every day a new problem may occur. It is not surprising that water systems are deteriorating and become non-functional. Not only is the Torah WASH project committed to building new water infrastructure, but also train a team in the maintenance and ensure they have access to parts and tools for repairs. See more

14.01.2022 The Makira Banana Festival started today

14.01.2022 We are a few individuals who have been welcomed into this Solomon community. We all pay our own airfares and transport, the community gives us food and accommo...dation, and there are no admin fees - so all donations go straight to the project. Any small donation will really help! $20,000 of supplies have already been donated to build a long lasting system that will give adequate and reliable water to this community, along with maintenance training and tools. Pacific Koha and strong Island Foundation have agreed for us to come under their charity organisation, and Pacific Koha is providing the shipping. but we still need another $14,000. We customise the programme to what the community wants and needs, in contrast to large organisations, which often have a ‘one size fits all’ principle. Help us with a donation so the Torah Community can get their desperately needed new water delivery system next year. www.torahwash.org/donate-2

12.01.2022 Makira Gold is proud to be a sponsor of the 2019 Makira Banana Festival, which started today and runs for 3 days. Photos to come. An article written by George A...tkin in Makira. ---------- Aussie groups to sponsor winners of Festival competitions By George Atkin in Kira Kira Two Australian groups have confirmed they will sponsor the winners of talent competitions in the 3rd Makira Banana Festival which will kick off tomorrow (Oct 11) at Kokana Village, West Bauro on Makira. They are the Makira-based Australian NGO, Strong Island Foundation and Brisbane-based Makira Gold. The Strong Island Foundation, which is engaged in helping to organise the 2019 Makira Banana Festival, from Nurses to Nurses Exchange program between Kira Kira Hospital and Australia, the construction of public toilets for Kira Kira and Health and Sanitation program in Star Harbour, East Makira says it will provide 2-thousand-500 dollars towards the prizes of the talent competitions. And the Brisbane-based Makira Gold, which buys solar-dried cocoa beans from Makira and Guadalcanal Provinces, says it will provide 2-thousand dollars towards the talent competitions, especially written speech and poetry competitions. Both the Foundation and Makira Gold say they support talent competitions in speech and poetry writing because they believe education is very important to young people of the province, adding they are its future leaders. And while the Strong Island Foundation is the initiative of Bond University of Queensland, the Makira Gold is owned and managed by Brisbane-based part Makiran and part Australian, Brian One Atkin. Bond University and the Makira Ulawa Provincial Government have a program which involves university trainee doctors, lawyers and architectural designers taking up short stints with the Kira Kira Hospital, the Kira Kira Public Solicitor’s Office and the Infrastructure Division of the Provincial Government. And from time to time, Kira Kira Hospital nurses take up short courses at the Bond University Medical Faculty. Meanwhile, Strong Island Foundation complements the program by coordinating items to affiliated projects such as the East Makira Dental Project, the Toraa Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Project, also of East Makira, and the Makira Sanitation Survey Project. ------------ See more

10.01.2022 If you'd like make a donation to the Torah Wash project, head to our website for details and select East Makira Dental Project :) http://www.strongislandfoundation.com.au/

09.01.2022 The Torah WASH project has trained 6 Household Hygiene Assessors. The assessors discovered several families were refilling used water bottles and sharing them f...or drinking. They suggested naming each bottle and not sharing the bottles. The women were excited to understand why illnesses seem to spread throughout the family within 2-3 days. A simple solution that can have significant health benefits. We are excited about the work the household assessors are doing and they are loving the work. See more

04.01.2022 The Torah community frequently run out of water. With no taps, water runs continuously, wasting 80,000 litres a day. The Torah Community needs 30,000 litres a... day, installing taps will enable the community to have adequate water. Taps will also reduce the pooling of stagnant water, which is a mosquito haven that promotes the spread of malaria and dengue fever. See more