Speaking at the official handover of the school project on Thursday 25th August 2010, Mr Koinau said his community was very thankful to RARP and its funding agencies.
These agencies include NZ Government, European Union, UNICEF and the Solomon Islands Government.
Together, they helped built three staff houses, three staff toilets, one prefabricated double classroom with an office and three student toilets, one for boys and two for girls.
Mr Koinau said the buildings were much needed after the 2007 tsunami and earthquake totally destroyed the school and the village which were located in this same area.
The village has now been relocated while Tapurai Primary has been rebuilt on the same location.
Mr Koinau however added that despite this great achievement, in terms of logistics, the children will still need to paddle a long way to reach the school.
He appealed to donors and the government for any support they might render to improve travel to and from the school, which has now been renamed, Kalaro Primary School.
Provincial Member for Simbo Ward, Belshazaar Sasa, agreed that the buildings were of a high quality and relayed his sincere appreciation and thank you to the three donors and the Solomon Islands Government for the generosity to fund this project through RARP.
In their respective remarks, the Superintendant Minister for Simbo Circuit, Rev Steven Taino and Education Officer of the Central West region of the United Church, Ezekiel Padakana, joined the member and school committee chairman in expressing the same view that the buildings being provided by RARP are of a high quality.
The Tapurai buildings were accompanied with complementary items including bookshelves, 4 teachers’ tables and 4 chairs, 120 single seater classroom desks, and food-safes for each of the three staff houses.
Each of the speakers thanked RARP and its officers for the hard work put into beginning the reconstruction of this school despite hard times and moments of disagreements among community members.
They acknowledged that the rebuilding of this school was a gift from God and encouraged the community to look after the property and provide ongoing maintenance without depending on donors or the government.
Among the invited guests were teachers and other community representatives from Lengana, Nusa Simbo and Riquru Primary Schools also on Simbo island.
At least two members of Tapurai village died as a result of the April 2007 tsunami and earthquake disaster, besides total destruction of the village and school.
By NANCY KWALEA
Assistant Project Manager, RARP
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