THE recent discovery of Unexploded Ordnances (UXO) or bombs at the Betikama camp ground, east of Honiara has forced organisers to rescheduled the proposed pathfinder camp to next week.
The discovery was made at Subcamp Six of the camp ground last week resulting in the program being pushed back to next week.
The weeklong camp is supposed to run this week from Monday 16th June to Sunday 22nd June.
Pathfinders from around Honiara, Guadalcanal, Isabel, Makira, Central Province and Malaita are expected to be part of the event.
However, following the discovery, the organising committee had advised all district coordinators, district directors, pastors, and pathfinder directors from the participating clubs and regions about the changes.
In an advisory, the organisers said; This memo is to inform you of a critical and urgent update regarding the upcoming Pathfinder camp.
“Following our discussion with the UXO (Unexploded Ordnance) team leader, we’ve decided to reschedule the camp dates to June 22-29.
“This change is due to the discovery of unexploded bombs in Subcamp Six.
“Rescheduling allows the UXO team to safely complete their work without disturbance and, most importantly, ensures the absolute safety of all our children.
“We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this might cause with your schedule,” the statement said.
This week, the UXO team will continue to scan the remaining parts of the camp ground to safely remove more UXO.
As of Friday, reports said, more than 100 smaller-sized and 30 large sized UXO were discovered at sub-camp six. More are expected to be discovered this week because this area is littered with UXO, it was revealed.
This zone is located close to the Lunga power station and the Betikama Cut Hill area.
Spots where large UXO have been discovered are being condoned to allow RSIPF UXO team to unearth them for proper disposal.
This week no-one is allowed to enter the Betikama campground until all the clearance work are done by a hired private UXO team.
Despite the delay some pathfinders from Makira and Isabel have already arrived in Honiara last week and are being accommodated in some of the schools to wait for next week’s event.
The camp coincides with the month-long school break.
Most leaders and pathfinders have agreed with the delay to allow clearance work to be completed.
A counsellor said, the Betikama camp area has been littered with so many remains of UXO lying around underground and its good that work is now done to clear them.
“It could have been a different story if the bombs are not cleared and then an accident occurs,” the female counsellor expressed.
Its understood most of the bombs located underground began to expose due ongoing heavy rain and clearance of the camp ground overtime.
In September this year a Dorcas congress will also be hosted at the Betikama camp ground.
The congress will bring all Dorcas members from around the country for a weeklong program in Honiara.
So the clearance work now will help allow the mothers to enjoy their camp come September.
The Betikama camp ground was first established and used in late 2019 and early 2020 when the Solomon Islands hosted the Trans Pacific Union (TPU) camporee.
At the camporee other regional countries from around the Pacific were part of the event.
Meanwhile, the delay in the program has allowed all the pathfinders to prepare well for next week.
Most of the pathfinders are looking forward to this big event.
