A considerate parent voluntarily undertakes renovations to his son’s school dormitory
A story in today’s Solomon Star newspaper tells how one father renovated a school dormitory free of charge.
The story also served to illustrate how many schools in the country struggle to keep afloat, amidst school fee instability and largely dependent on Government grants.
The situation at Vonunu National Secondary High School, the first established secondary school in Vella La Vella is no exception and with limited funds the school facilities suffered from a lack of maintenance and general up-keep.
The secondary school system in the Solomon Islands has seen many of the country’s leaders over the years and a sad reflection that a lack of finance leads to often poor maintenance and run-down dormitory accommodation.
The story in question, written by Terence Ziru, explains how, in February this year, Fred Vivijoro took his son, Milvinady Ajo, to attend Vonunu National Secondary School to attend his first year as a Form 1 boarding student.
Fred saw for himself the conditions of his son’s dormitory and his heart sank at the sight of the facility.
Offered existing building materials already amassed by the school over the months, Mr.Vivijoro took on the responsibility of acquiring remaining materials, transportation and labour salaries.
The initial stages of the project had a slow start assessing building damages, financial costs and logistic viability. Actual repair work began in early June and just over a month later the building had been completely renovated and handed over to the school free of charge.
The renovation of the dormitory on his own was not a decision Mr Vivijoro took lightly, taking into consideration the poor conditions, but he felt he had to do something to help improve the conditions for his son and for other pupils.
On Friday the 19th of June, the keys to the dormitory were finally handed to the school principal in a ceremony held at the school
Well done! Thank you Mr. Vivijoro for your considerate and worthy assistance to the Vonunu National Secondary School.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
