BINA VILLAGE, MALAITA, SOLOMON ISLANDS
In 2016, the Solomon Islands Rural Development Program (RDP) funded the construction of a Community Hall in Bina, a village of just over 1,000 people on the west coast of Malaita. Community members in Bina agreed that a Community Hall was their top priority, and after designing the project and implementation plan themselves, their application for funding was approved by RDP.
We had a very strong implementation committee, And even better, nearly everyone in the village contributed to the project in some way. Everyone was a worker- carrying timber, digging gravel, or cooking for the laborers. It was amazing.
shared the chairman, Silas Fouanialo
Since its completion in early 2017, the hall, with its permanent roof providing protection from the weather, has played host to a wide variety of
events and meetings.
The Community Hall is used regularly for village leader meetings, Bina’s Women’s Fellowship meetings, and Bina’s Sunday School classes.
The National Council of Women and
There have also been several unforeseen positive impacts of the Community Hall. Nason, a 19-year-old youth member of the implementation committee, was so inspired by the climate change workshop put on at the Community Hall that he now intends to attend university and study forestry.
Additionally, neighboring villages and other outside groups are able to rent out the Community Hall for events. Bina’s community leaders plan to
use the money generated from these events to further invest in the hall, and they’ve already identified solar panels and lighting as their first
priority.
For Bina residents, the Community Hall has been a source of learning, togetherness, inspiration, and even revenue generation.
