Malu’u Clinic Infant Incubator Project, North Malaita,

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

A Generous donation from the

Medical Aid Abroad New Zealand
(MAANZ), as a gift to Malu’u Clinic
and coordinated by TARD

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

The To’abaita Authority for Research and Development (TARD) student/youth

volunteer group would like to acknowledge the following authorities and
individuals for their genuine contribution in one way or another to ensure the
“Malu’u Clinic Infant Incubator Project” was successfully handed over to the staff
and committee at the Malu’u Area Health Centre. Without your assistance, this
initiative would never reach the rural populace of North Malaita. Therefore, TARD
is sincerely grateful towards the following bodies and individuals for their
collective contribution in one way or another towards this initiative.

1) Dr Graeme Woodfield (MAANZ Chairman in Auckland), his MAANZ

executive, and team of volunteers for their kindness, understanding,
generosity and continuous commitment to work with a student/youth
volunteer group such as TARD. TARD is also thankful towards MAANZ for
covering the initial costs of packaging and freighting of the incubator from
Auckland to Honiara. Without such support, this vital equipment would not
reach Honiara.

2) Mr Peter Fairamoa (current TARD Chairman), Mr Ishmael Alulu (Honiara

TARD Committee member), Veronica Maeda, and others who have
assisted in one way or another from the Customs Clearance stage at
Honiara Port, temporary storage in Honiara, and transportation to Malu’u
Clinic in North Malaita.

3) Mr Joseph Inomae of the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation

(SIBC) National radio for covering the assistance through the media in the
national radio’s news programs.

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.

5) Honourable Daniel Enele Kwanairara, Member of Parliament for North

Malaita Constituency, for his kind assistance in terms of financial donation
to help meet freighting costs from Honiara to North Malaita.

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.

7) Mrs Betty Fakarii, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Provincial

Government and Rural Development for her individual donation of
AUD$50; and Mr Philip Kanairara, a To’abaita law student in Vanuatu for
his donation of FJD$50.

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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.

TARD is privileged to be able to work closely with MAANZ in facilitating

this infant incubator to Malu’u Clinic, as this is the second time that
MAANZ has assisted the rural people of North Malaita with medical
supplies. Their first initiative with TARD was late last year when they
donated forty (40) boxes of medical supplies that benefited four clinics in
North Malaita, particularly Malu’u, Bita’ama, Fo’ondo and Gwaiau.

1.2. The problem TARD was trying to address

In the North Malaita region, like elsewhere, access to better health facilities is a
basic human right for individuals and is of uttermost importance to the livelihood
of rural communities. However due to lack of resources and unequal distribution
of development benefits, access to standard medical facilities is not fully realized
in most of the clinics in North Malaita. Considerable population growth along with
over-crowdedness of evicted North Malaita people from Guadalcanal
immediately after the recent ethnic crisis in Solomon Islands has resulted in the
unavailability of adequate medical items and facilities to cater for the rising
demand for basic health services. Deteriorated and/or lack of equipments and
medication is becoming a threatening issue that, if not addressed promptly, will
implicate the wellbeing of rural communities in North Malaita.

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.

Therefore, the requested infant incubator would serve as a breakthrough, a first

of its kind in such an equipment, for the hard work and commitment that the
Malu’u Clinic committee had endured to maintain the under equipped clinic. As a
result it would greatly help with emergency cases on premature births, which
often happens at Malu’u, but not attended to immediately in the past as patients
had to be referred to the Kilu’ufi Hospital (about 6 hours drive from Malu’u to the
Malaita Provincial capital in Auki).

1.3. Project location

The Malu’u Clinic which benefited from this infant incubator donation from
MAANZ is located in the North Malaita Constituency, at the northern tip of
Malaita Island, Solomon Islands (fig 1).

Malu’u Area Health Centre serves a total population of more than 21,000 people,
a drastic increase after the ethnic tension.

North Malaita

Fig 1: General Map of the Solomon Islands with Malaita Island

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 Malu’u Clinic

Fig 2: Location of Malu’u Clinic within the North Malaita region

1.4. Project goals and expected outputs

The primary goals and anticipated outcomes of the Malu’u Clinic Infant Incubator
Project were:
• To improve medical equipments and general services that was available
at the Malu’u Clinic in North Malaita. The anticipated output was that it
would enable rural people that use the clinic to access better medical
services and facilities at a cheaper cost, as it is closer to their homes.

• To provide an alternative source of health assistance through international

donor/volunteer agencies that compliments the work of the national
government. The implication was that it would develop wider
understanding and appreciation amongst rural communities on genuine
donor support from New Zealand non governmental organisations thus,
value and respect donor initiatives.

• 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.

Prior to arrival of the incubator in Honiara, TARD through student member

financial contributions had taken initial initiatives to seek extra financial donations
to help with the freighting costs from Honiara to North Malaita, as this was not
covered under the project donation. Therefore, even when the incubtaor has
reached Honiara TARD had already secured adequate financial pledges to assist
with freighting costs and other distribution logistics. In addition to that, TARD had
also reimbursed about NZD$300 of the total MAANZ expense of around
NZD$571.80 whilst pursuing funds to settle the remaining balance before the end
of 2007.

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

3.1. Recognition and appreciation from the Malaita Provincial

Government
Through the MAANZ donation of such a significant equipment (Infant Incubator),
the first of its kind for Malu’u Clinic, along with other initiatives, TARD has
managed to gain the attention and recognition of the Malaita Provincial
Government. That was evident with the high level provincial executive that met
briefly with the TARD Chairman in Auki on Tuesday morning (June 12th 2007),
whereby the Premier conveyed his executive’s gratitude to genuine donors such
as MAANZ as well as youth volunteer groups such as TARD for facilitating such
initiative to the grassroots people of Malaita.

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).

3.2. Donor recognition of TARD’s volunteer work in North Malaita

The successful implementation of the Malu’u Clinic Infant Incubator Project along
with other previous and current community initiatives have helped TARD to gain
further trust and confidence amongst the donor body and networks.

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.

Following TARD’s transparency and accountability of handling previous projects

either in cash or materials, there has been a very positive and encouraging
financial support from various North Malaita leaders to fund the transportation
costs from Honiara to North Malaita and other logistical support. This is a clear
indication of North Malaita leader’s appreciation of the genuine and good
voluntary work that TARD, as a student group is trying to do with regards to
helping rural communities in North Malaita.

3.4. Great and enthusiastic public support and appreciation

Through this project coupled with other past community projects that TARD has
already successfully coordinated, there has been a wide public support of
TARD’s goals and vision. This was evident with the number of people who turned
up to witness to witness the handing over of the incubator to Malu’u Clinic.

3.5. Promotes positive perspective of New Zealand NGO’s good work in

Solomon Islands
Finally, the continuous support of community development work in North Malaita
in such a calibre of significance by New Zealand donors and non-government
organisations, such as MAANZ, has painted a positive perspective, reputation
and image of the genuine work that the New Zealand groups are doing in the
Solomon Islands. Rural North Malaita people have begun to understand that the
“people-to-people” relationship between New Zealanders and Solomon Islanders
is very well intact.

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