Post written by Harold Maesulia. Follow me on twitter
It doesn’t feel that different at all being thirty three.
It doesn’t feel that different at all being thirty three.
Pay a visit to the remotest parts of Solomon Islands and get to see the real life out there.
Visit a heathen village in the jungles of east Kwaio and you’ll witness people who are still walking around with hardly a thread on.
Jump on MV Isabella and pay some of the remotest highland villages up in the mountains of Maringe and Hograno and you’ll get to see young Isabellians who’ve never been to Honiara yet they are happy with the simplicity that thrives in their communities.
In the far eastern Solomons, an island continues to shear the detrimental forces of nature giving life to its inhabitants. Described by BBC as one of the remotest islands in the world, Anuta still nurtures life on its shores despite the fact that it rarely gets shipping services from the capital Honiara.
How these people came to survive is in deed a story to tell and hear. Over the years the difficult life on the island has equipped the islanders with specialties which range from unique fishing techniques to special arts of catching birds at night for consumption.
The happy face of kids surfing on waves and the sun tan men in their lavalavas pushing a canoe to the shore from a fishing trip speak volume of the care free life that thrives on this remote island.
The only way to get to urban centers for some of our 900 plus islands is either by a day’s walk down the rugged hills across rivers that retain their pristine beauty over the years or by hours on the water rowing man made canoes to get their produces for sale in centers which in turn will enable them to purchase kerosene and perhaps soap– a few of the things we regard as basic needs in a typical rural village. A truck lift is evident on islands like Guadalcanal and Malaita but that’s a rare fantasy on islands like Temotu, Choiseul and even our longest chain Isabel.
Getting one’s child to school is not always pleasant. Sometimes the poor parents have to sacrifice most of their earnings for just a single kid when he reaches the higher stages of secondary education. Do you think $4000 is attainable for a rural man who calls gardening his trade?
What could be more rewarding than taking time out to appreciate how things can be quite complicated to handle on our scattered islands. Nothing has shown up to dethrone the contentment in the hearts of some of our people. They are out of line when you talk about fashion. They go with simple stuff that they can afford. But do you find them overwhelmed with anxiousness? Get time to watch them the next day, they’ll be up and running again. Some will be out tending their gardens while for others it’ll be another day out in the sea fishing.
As a country, we haven’t got much to shout about development wise but there’s one we should embrace. And that is the infamous struggle we face each day.
It may look fitting to call it the survival of the fittest, but I always like to look at the positive side of things. The struggles have turned many into self reliant people. And you can see that in the eyes of many parents who've toiled their hearts out to see that their kids get the best out of Education. As a student, that is my reason to celebrate this year's 33th Independence Anniversary.
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