BY IRWIN ANGIKI

Australia will this year fund 100 projects to improve schools, health services and community infrastructure to create opportunities for people in the communities.

Lindsay Buckingham, the Australian High Commission minister-counsellor announced this when handing over the new classroom for GS Faisi TVET school last week.

“This year, 2025, we will fund 100 more projects,” she said.

“Projects like this help to improve schools, health services and community infrastructure to create opportunities for people in the communities.

“This classroom can be just one example of how we work together to make a life better for everyone,” said Buckingham.

Australia rolled out 100 similar projects last year worth $23 million.

These projects add on to the already more than $5 billion worth of project and support Australia has given Solomon Islands since 2019.

Last week’s handover was for a two-storey classroom project funded by Australia for the GS Faisi school in one of the communities of East Honiara, Jackson Ridge, one with thousands of residents.

The project costed $1.2 million and was made possible through AusAID under the Solomon Islands-Australia Community Partnership.

Acknowledging parents, teachers, students and community representatives at the handover, Buckingham said that it was a pleasure for her to attend the official handover of the upgraded classrooms.

“This project is an example of the strong partnership between Solomon Island and Australia. We recognised that there’s a solution when we empower local communities.

“An example of how these partnerships between communities offer to make a tangible difference inside lives for all people is what we are here for today,” Buckingham said.

She said GS Faisi TVET school was among the 35 schools that applied for funding support in 2023.

She said Australia funded 100 community projects across every province of the Solomon Islands in 2024, representing more than $23 million of direct investment in local businesses and community development initiatives.

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