The use of beaches and bushes for Open Defecation is now a thing of the past for the Nusa Mahiri Community, after they were officially declared and certified as a No Open Defecation (NOD) Community last week.
Open defecation is the human practice of defecating outside (“in the open”) rather than into a toilet. People may choose fields, bushes, forests, ditches, streets, canals, or other open spaces for defecation.
UNICEF Project Officer, Erick Hale made the declaration on Wednesday, 11 September 2024, during the NOD celebration held in the Nusa Mahiri Community, North Kolobangara Island in Western Province.
The event was witnessed by several distinguished guests, including ADRA SI Country Director Leyn E. Gantare, RWASH Programme Manager Jack Filomea, Western Provincial Government (WPG) Chief Health Inspector Rendy Solomon, UNICEF Project Officer Erick Hale, Director of Nursing for the Western Provincial Government Eddie Kiloe, Senior Culture Officer from the Tourism Division Kenneth Roga, WPG Planning Officer Cornell Dalipanda, and WPG Provincial Engineering Officer Darren Tefonoli.
ADRA staff from Vela and surrounding communities also gathered to celebrate this significant milestone for Nusa Mahiri.
In his speech during the celebration, Rendy Solomon, Chief Health Inspector of the Environmental Health Division of the Western Provincial Government, highlighted that achieving NOD status is both a significant milestone and a great achievement for the provincial government.
“Western Provincial Medical Services, particularly the Environmental Health Department, views today’s NOD celebration as a bonus and a major achievement for the province’’
“I would like to thank ADRA SI for their commitment to implementing this sanitation program. We verified that every household in this community now has fully constructed toilets, which represents a success not only for the community but also for the Solomon Islands Government, the Western Provincial Government, and all stakeholders,’’Ms Solomon said.
ADRA SI Country Director, Leyn Gantare, also expressed his gratitude to the Nusa Mahiri community for their efforts in achieving this milestone.
“Thank you, Nusa Mahiri Community, for enabling your village to become NOD-certified by completing the construction of toilets in every household through this project’’
“I would also like to thank DFAT and UNICEF for funding this project.
ADRA SI is proud to be a partner in this initiative, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration on similar projects across the Western Province in the future,’’Mr Gantare said.
RWASH Programme Manager, Jack Filomea who representing Ministry of Health and Medical Service emphasized the importance of community cooperation in achieving the NOD certification.
“This NOD celebration is special because it demonstrates the success of coordination and collaboration between all stakeholders involved for this project’’
“I would like to thank the people of this community for their hard work and commitment. Without your efforts, this celebration would not have been possible. I encourage you to maintain the facilities and spread the message to other communities. Sanitation is a challenge, but if you can achieve it, others can too,’’Mr Filomea stated in his speech.
Nusa Mahiri Community representative Alick Buga extended his gratitude to ADRA SI and UNICEF for their support of successful NOD celebration.
“Today marks the realization of one of our community’s dreams – a priority sanitation project that we have been planning for many years ago and was full filled today’’
“Thank you to ADRA SI for helping us turn this dream into reality, with the financial support from DFAT through UNICEF. We are grateful for your assistance in making this project happen,’’Mr Buga said during his speech.
The Nusa Mahiri Community, consisting of over 10 households, has successfully completed its sanitation project.
The National Sanitation Sustainability Plan (NSSP) program was funded by DFAT through UNICEF and was implemented by ADRA Solomon Islands across three islands in the Western Province namely Kolobangara, Ranongga, and Vella Lavella. Phase 2 of the NSSP program began in September 2023 and was scheduled for completion in December 2024.
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-ADRA
