BY RODRICK DESURI
Auki
A new two-story building built at Jordan Secondary School in East Kwaio, Malaita Province, was successfully blessed and opened on Tuesday, June 18.
The new classroom building aims to provide a more comfortable space and learning environment for students in and around Jordan Secondary School.
The blessing and opening event was witnessed by people from the catchment communities surrounding the school and representatives from the Pacific Baptist Mission, Australia, a private non-profit organisation.
“Our mission at the Pacific Baptist Mission is to spearhead all that Christ has commanded us to observe in the underserved regions of the Pacific,” the founder, Keith Sanga, said.
Mr Sanga shared important and painful points during the opening event that rural people deserved.
“First, education. Our children deserve more than the ability to read and write. They need the skills that cater to their lives, such as farming, trades, and handling money wisely.
“When there is no school, let the church open its doors. Every child is made in the image of God, and they deserve the chance to learn.
“Second, health. Caring for the body is not separate from caring for the soul. In villages where there are no clinics and little medicine, our churches can partner with health workers, teach families about healthy living, eating good food, and stand beside the sick and the suffering.
“Third, my dream is not for communities that wait forever on outside help. It is for communities that stand on their own feet, led by their own trained sons and daughters, carrying the work forward long after any visitor has gone home,” he said.
The two-story building costs roughly one million dollars, and the support was made possible through a partnership between Pacific Baptist Mission and Jordan Secondary School after almost four years.
Sanga is of Tongan and Malaitan descent, was born in Fiji and has dual citizenship in New Zealand and the Solomon Islands. He moved to Australia in 2014 and now calls Australia his home.
Photos: Supplied
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