A DELEGATION from the Japanese Grassroots Grant Assistance Program based in Honiara recently visited a number of their funded projects in Malaita.
The visit was part of their ongoing efforts to assess development needs in the Malaita region.
The delegation was accompanied by Daniel Suidani, Member for Ward 5 in West fataleka and former Premier of Malaita Province.
The purpose of the visit was to inspect existing facilities and evaluate areas that may require further support under the program.
Speaking to the Solomon Star, Suidani said, he was invited to join the delegation to sites where Japan has provided, or plans to provide assistance under the grassroots initiative.
The group visited Kilu’ufi Hospital, Fauabu clinic, Aimela Early Childhood School, and the island community of Sulufou.
Their first stop was Kilu’ufi Hospital, where officials inspected a previously donated ambulance.
The delegation expressed interest in providing an additional ambulance to support the hospital’s medical services.
In 2022, the Japanese government donated seven Toyota Land Cruiser ambulances equipped with medical supplies, including oxygen concentrators, to the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS).
This donation was part of Japan’s Economic and Social Development Programme for the Solomon Islands.
Of these, two ambulances were deployed to Kilu’ufi and Malu’u Hospitals in Malaita Province.
At Fauabu Hospital, the delegation visited the clinic where they will fund a second-hand ambulance valued at USD 31,346.
The agreement was signed in 2024 between the Japanese Embassy and the clinic.
The visit also included Aimela Early Childhood School, where a new classroom building funded by the Japanese government in 2023 at a cost of over SBD 520,000 is now complete and serving local students.
By SOLOMON LOFANA
Solomon Star, Auki
