BY LORETTA B MANELE

Patience is a virtue, they say and so this was the case of a young man who is working in Australia under the PALM (Pacific Australia Labour Mobility) Scheme.

Simply going by the name “Richie”, he hails from Malaita Province and in an interview with Island Sun recently, Richie shared his story about working at the Riverina Dairy Farm in New South Wales, Melbourne.

Richie started working at the farm in July 2023 under a 4-year contract.

His main goal to go and work in Australia is to support his family and improve their standard of living along with helping to meet their needs and wants.

When he started working, he was put in the department responsible for processing milk and after 1 year and 6 months, he was moved to another department.

At the moment, he said his job is to clean cow dung and he does this using a machine and water after he and a colleague lead the cows to where they get milked in other words, where cows go to supply milk.

“I enjoyed my work, it’s easy and relaxing,” Richie said smiling.

At the farm, there were 8 Solomon Islanders but after 5 of them left, only three including Richie remain working there.

Richie said in a week, they work for 4 days and have the remaining 3 days as their day offs and in the week after, they work for 5 days and rest during the 2 remaining days and this rotates as they work.

Like in different workplaces, there are always some challenges one faces.

Richie explained that one challenge when he got to the farm was wanting to transfer to a different place of work.

Not turning out as he wanted, although the job was tough at first, he stayed and was patient going to work.

The cold weather is also one other challenge they faced but for Richie, at the back of his mind, despite how cold it gets and how lazy he may feel at times you have no choice but to go to work.

“This is because you’re thinking about the money and your family.

“And this job is what I came for so despite the challenge of working during the cold weather I have to do my job,” he said.

Like positives there are also negatives and Richie found some advantages of working for Riverina Dairy Farm.

He says the advantage is he can earn good money and in turn help his family.

Aside from that, Richie says they have a very good relationship with their boss who often comes around to talk with them and to see how work is going.

“He also tells us good things and encourages us.

“He tells us that we have to work faithfully and he will be able to help us like to help us extend our visas.

“That’s why we’ve sticked to working at this farm since day one,” says Richie.

Speaking of holidays, he explains that you can only apply for leave to go on your holiday if you’ve worked reaching a certain number of hours.

In their case, he says if you’ve worked for 150 to 200 hours you can apply for leave and go on for a holiday for two months but if you’ve worked for only 100 plus hours you’ll only get a month’s period to go home for your holiday.

When asked if he wanted to share some advice for Solomon Islanders thinking of applying for work under the PALM Scheme, Richie gave some pretty good advice.

He said the first thing you should do is to think about why you’re going to Australia for work and not waste the opportunity.

“You should bear in mind that you came here to work to help support your family. You should not think about doing other things even though you may find the work difficult.

“Just be patient and faithful in your work and after you will achieve what you came for,” says Richie.

He also pointed out that one thing is to avoid being absent from work because your presence at work is what the bosses want.

“It’s good to have a good relationship with your boss and to always pray,” he added.

As a single father, for Richie leaving behind his two beautiful young children was the hardest part in pursuing his job.

At the same time, he says it’s his kids that pushes him to work as best as he can.

Today, Richie now has a 2-bedroom house built with a living room and a veranda, he says happily.

 And it was his kids who motivated him to reach where he is today.

This is the result of him being patient since day one and making sure he goes to work every day and working to the best of his ability.

He plans to work on another project for his kids so they can have a good life and bright future.

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BY LORETTA B MANELE

A local artist, Bradford Leslie Bugotu who’s stage name is “Fordii” shared his music journey in a recent interview.

The 27-year-old is from Isabel and Guadalcanal Provinces and music for him started back in 2018 recording with two friends at a house, he says.

A few years went by and Fordii happened to meet Joe Briz and they started a band known as “50LO”.

As they continued with their music, somehow along the way he took a break from music because of school.

In 2020, he met Jammin who asked if he was still into making music to which he casually said “yes” and that he was still interested in making music.

So, this was the point where he went back to making music and in 2021, he released his first single called “Tuani”, a language from Isabel Province.

“Tuani means truth, like you’re saying something that is true”, Fordii explains.

From then on, he continued his music journey up until now, 2025.

Fordii happily says he’s released more than 10 singles including feature songs from collaborations with amazing artists in the likes of Mi Santana, Joe Briz, Andre and others.

He explains that in the Solomon Islands, it’s a bit difficult when it comes to promoting your music.

However, there are other platforms which you can use to do this, Fordii says pointing out “TikTok” and “Facebook” as examples.

“One of the online stores where I sell my songs at is Spotify,” he added.

Speaking of music in Solomon Islands and the Pacific region as a whole, Fordii says there’s big improvement in music.

He hopes that in the future, music from Solomon Islands and the Pacific region is exposed more to other countries.

When asked what type of music or genre he’s interested in, Fordii says he’s interested in Pop music, R & B music and Afro music.

At the moment, he is trying to experiment and find out which genre he’ll settle with.

“I like to incorporate different type of music, sometimes when doing Pop music, I add in Solomon Islands language for it to be more diverse,” Fordii says.

One challenge he stresses on is writing songs.

Fordii says it’s hard to write songs especially if it’s your first time to do it and you’re usually a situation where you have to actually sit down and write.

Interestingly, he said when he’s writing songs, he likes to get the experiences of people and use that in his music.

He also mentioned that he earns an income from his music through doing gigs here and there and from performing at events upon invitation.

As for what he’d say to upcoming artists, Fordii says they should not give up on their dreams, must be passionate about it, work hard and be consistent in what they do so they can achieve their music goals.

“And this not just for music but for other careers you want to pursue.

“Don’t give up just go and do what you’re doing,” he said.

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BY JOHN HOUANIHAU

Raised in a chiefly family from Raunikolo and Raunibolo in the highlands of East Guadalcanal, Donation Kelisuia aspires greatly for the entire highland community by seeking to restructure and revitalise their culture while promoting environmentally sustainable development in the highlands.

As an energetic, humble individual with grand visions, his aim is to preserve and unite his people where access to education, transportation, commerce, and various government services to enhance their livelihoods is severely limited.

After completing his Form 7 studies at St. Nicholas Anglican College in 2022, he later enrolled at USP in 2023.

However young Kelisuia withdrew from school due to financial constraints and returned home spending considerable time with elders, absorbing their invaluable wisdom regarding their coexistence with the environment.

Due to his deep connection to their struggles, he resolved to seek support in safeguarding both the environment and biodiversity across natural and cultural landscapes. He enthusiastically joined the ESF in 2023 as a volunteer, driven by his determination to collaborate with environmental organisation, and casually connected with ESF, a non-governmental organization focused on environmental protection.

Later in 2023, he gets in touch with Edward Haikau Huitarau of SI Rangers and gets a community rangers status. As a volunteer, he was engaged in REDD+/FPIC empowerment awareness, Protected Area awareness and land boundary mapping throughout Guadalcanal Province.

Through his brief involvement with ESF, he gained foundational knowledge and skills sufficient to lead his tribal community in establishing conservation initiatives in the highlands of Guadalcanal, which, though remote and challenging to access, are abundant in natural resources.

From his experiences, he began to inspire rangers throughout the Guadalcanal province and became part of NGOs like the Solomon Islands Rangers Association, focusing on conservation and environmental protection while promoting Protected Area awareness to interested groups and empowering Ulumate tribes in conservation development for their community.

The establishment of Ulumate Ranger station at Raunikolo and Raunibolo East Guadalcanal showed Young Kelisuia faith and deep respect for the marginalised and impoverished individuals in his community in terms of managing land issues and their natural resources.

The construction of the ranger station commenced in early December 2024 and was finalised on June 2025.

The project was carried out through the efforts of local labour, with support from the entire highland community and a few residents from the coast. The structure was entirely built using traditional materials, featuring distinctive and culturally significant designs.

In the local Guadalcanal dialect, it is referred to as Luma. The building was adorned with intricate cultural designs incorporating various Birao patterns. Historically, three ranger houses were constructed naturally and authentically by the Namoku people, descendants of the Vatupochau.

The ESF office subsequently provided them with SBD$5,000 to conduct land ritual clearance for the construction of the ranger’s house.

In September 2023, following the completion of the ritual clearance of the tribal land, Mr. Donation Kelisuia, with the backing of REDD+/WWC, led a team to demarcate the boundaries of the Ulumate customary land.

Through his efforts, he brought together ten tribes from the highlands of East Guadalcanal, who are the custodians of Ulumate land, for a meeting aimed at exploring potential strategies for safeguarding the area and constructing a ranger’s house to facilitate the monitoring of their ancestral forest ecosystem and land.

“Our community extends great appreciation to Mr. John Paul and Mr. David Chokoa for their leadership in the construction of these ranger houses. Although the station has been completed, it still requires assistance with electricity, water supply, ranger equipment, and household necessities for the staff. Visitors are welcome to come to the station with goodwill. It is situated in the hinterland of the Avuavu ward in East Guadalcanal. To reach the location, you can take an OBM from Honiara to Avuavu for a day trip, and then walk for three hours along the Bolavu and Asi rivers to arrive at the station,” he said.

“The station is located far from the village catchments along the coast and boasts stunning beauty. It is positioned near the riverside, offering a pristine view. Government officials, workshop participants, NGOs, rangers, tourists, and churches wishing to organize trips or holidays are warmly invited. From East Central Guadalcanal, you can travel by truck from Honiara to Veranahola, then walk along the Moqa river to Namoku, climb the Sinoli mountain across the island, and descend to reach the station. Come and experience the station; you will enjoy your time there. The area is surrounded by waterfalls, diverse bird species, volcanic sites, plants, and rich flora. You will not regret choosing to immerse yourself in the cultural village of the Birao people and a haven of nature filled with a spirit of care,” Young Kelisuia expressed.

The aim of Ulumate Conservation is to restructure, revive and unite all highland community to uphold the traditional knowledge of their culture and to promote the protection of their resources from extractive industry through the work of rangers and to pass on the skills and knowledge to their next generation, to protect the environment, biodiversity and all creations of God.

The mission of Ulumate is to collaborate with the Solomon Islands Rangers Association, ESF, government, community, tribes, and local authorities to effectively create job opportunities for their grassroots population and contribute to the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) aimed at tackling climate change challenges in the nation.

With his influence and mentorship, conservation concepts have now permeated highland and coastal communities in Avuavu and Kolokarako ward in East Central Guadalcanal, extending as far as Tetekangi and the Birao highlands.

“My aspiration is to unite everyone in the pursuit of peace in the highlands by engaging in environmentally sustainable activities and to cultivate a future where our future generations can thrive on the resources we hold,” he said.

Young Kelisuia also expresses gratitude to the Ecological Solution Foundation Director, Mr. David Boseto, and staff for their unwavering support and partnership. Simultaneously, he acknowledges the Solomon Islands Rangers Association Program Manager, Mr. Edward Haikau Huitarau, for his collaboration and partnership over the past few years.

He earnestly urges both the Guadalcanal provincial government and the national government to acknowledge the significance of this initiative and to dedicate efforts and support towards development that is more sustainable, essential, and equitable for everyone in society. He also seeks to encourage the youth of Guadalcanal Province and the Solomon Islands as a whole to take ownership and responsibility for God’s creation.

“We must unite in our efforts to protect our planet and ensure that we maintain a temperature increase of no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius to survive. I firmly believe that our land is like a mother, and we must care for it; to do so, we need to empower our rangers and local community-based organizations,” Young Kelisuia appealed.

The ranger station will serve as the central hub for all rangers in East Guadalcanal and will facilitate the organisation of significant future ranger events in the province. It will feature a cultural village that celebrates the cultural heritage of Guadalcanal Province (Birao) while promoting an understanding of rights and responsibilities in the context of modern lifestyles. It will also serve as an educational space for monitoring biodiversity. The station will become a center for stewardship and the ownership of customary land across its borders in the highland terrains.

“Together, we can foster peace through sustainable environmental initiatives if we all participate in these efforts that genuinely advocate for the grassroots community,” Young Kelisuia said.

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