PHAST project ready for next three years in the targeted communities

By Niniu Oligao

SI Red Cross Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation project, for short, PHAST, is eyeing the most vulnerable communities in the Ghari ward (Weather coast) and Lau Lagoon of North Malaita to work with them in the next three years of the new ‘Tugeda fo Helti Komiuniti Project’ initiative.
According to an interview with Clement Manuri, SIRC Health Awareness officer, his team returned from communities in the Weather coast area over the weekend, and now ready to go to Maluu and surrounding communities for two days of Latrine construction trainings as the tokens of appreciation for their supports in the past years of the Health awareness project. The Health awareness team is made up of SIRC staff, volunteers and a Latrine specialist from Australian Red Cross who has good work related experiences in the Solomon Islands.
“Building of two latrines for demonstration in the Weather coast and similar thing will be done in Maluu, are parts of our exit strategy in the communities we worked with in the past five years”, he said.
Mr. Manuri also highlighted another purpose for his team’s visit to those areas is to eye-mark the new communities which the Tugeda fo Helti Komiuniti project will be working with by the end of September 2008. He said four communities will be selected from Ghari ward and the other four from Lau Lagoon, basing on their level of vulnerability related to health problems.