Last April, I published the following letter on Linkedin and the same letter was circulated in the local media in the Solomon Islands with the support of the Editors of the mainstream newspapers
I re-publish the same letter today in the anticipation that Ms. Jutice Aitahari or one of her co-volunteer staff at Hearts of Hope will get in touch with me by email (nkhwazi2002@yahoo.com) or by using the link on my website www.solomoislandsinfocus.com, to be given information of three people wishing to offer help to Hearts of Hope with donations to aid the charity work the HOH does in caring for young orphans and elderly widows on the island of Malaita.
One of those in touch with me would like to know how it might be possible to legally adopt one of the orphans.
I would please request Ms. Aihahari to contact me as soon as possible, please.
Republication
“In March 2016, Radio New Zealand relayed an appeal made by the Hearts of Hope Charity on Malaita when the Founder of HOH, Janet Justice Aihthari, said there were virtually no welfare services in the Solomons and traditional cultural support models were no longer a substitute in getting aid for HOH.
Now five years on from that appeal HOH still works with orphans, widows, people with disabilities, and the elderly in Malaita Province and covers 29 communities there, caring for close to 1,200 children and more than many elderly widows.
Back in 2016, Justice Aihara said, "Like we have big families in the Solomon Islands and then they try to look after these orphaned children but then sometimes they get leftover [miss out] on things. And it is very hard here until parents or those that look after the orphans have a job.”
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic many people have been laid off from work in the Solomon Islands and how much harder will it have become for HOH to carry on?
Ms. Aihari’s volunteer workers do their best to serve the needs of their members, even going out to the villages to provide live-in care for families but she has said there was only so much they could do with their limited resources.
Will humanitarian agencies help HOH to carry on its charity work? I do hope so, and would especially request USA AID to render humanitarian and financial help to the struggling charity organization with its ongoing social welfare assistance.”
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
