Sea level rise will soon damage parts of the Visale Clinic in North West Guadalcanal.
This is according to Solomon Star’s Guadalcanal stringer John Toki.
The clinic was built around the 1930s by a Catholic Fr., Fr. Wall from New Zealand.
With the current climate urgency faced by the health facility, its beneficiaries are urging responsible authorities to help them save the only place that they are relying on for survival.
“The people here in Visale are now calling on responsible authorities to take note and start planning to relocate the clinic.
“Our fear now is that the sea level rise will soon to take down the clinic,” Toki who is also residing near the facility said.
He said village chiefs in North West Guadalcanal told him to report the state of sea-level rise at the clinic on media purposely for the responsible authorities to act immediately.
Toki stated that it seems the future is uncertain for them if they would like to seek health services.
“If the clinic is taken away by the effects of Climate Change, in this case, the Sea level rise, we will be badly affected.
“It looks like if this issue is not solved quickly people here will start to travel into the city to seek medical attention,” Toke added.
He said the Archdiocese of Honiara, Visale Health Committee, Guadalcanal Province and members of Parliament of North West and West Guadalcanal must meet and consider relocating the clinic to a safe place.
He said the clinic has provided its service to people of North West Guadalcanal, West Guadalcanal, Savo, and Russell since its establishment in around the 1930s.
“Now the health facility is about to completely collapse,” said Toki.
Toki warned that if the huge trees near the shoreline fall, then sea level will find its way towards the clinic.
“Health is life,” said Toki.
Toki said North West Guadalcanal MP, Dettke Heinz Bodo has donated bricks for the clinic already.
“This shows that he is serious about this issue and its effects on the lives of his people,” Toki said.
Toki further stated that the MP has shown positive signs towards assisting the facility but the renovation work was stopped.
The committee of the Archdiocese of Honiara decided to stop the upgrade to progress.
However, the reason behind the halt of the construction work is not known, said Toki.
Meanwhile, Toki said that the people of Visale respect the decision made by the committee as they might have already planned ahead.
According to Toki, the Visale residents are calling on the Guadalcanal Provincial Health Division to visit the clinic and inspect and assess it on what needs to be done before renovation works continue.
The people believed that the church and government should work together to deal with the climate change issue facing Visale Clinic.
“Work on the relocation of the clinic must start sooner as possible,” they said.
Toki said the people have also called on logging companies operating in North West Guadalcanal to support the clinic in providing raw materials like round logs to support any work at the clinic.
By LACHLAN S. EDDIE
