Year four students of Woodford International School yesterday walked the muddy roads and hills to the April Hill area to visit students and teachers of Juniper Christian School.
The Woodford year 4 students are currently learning about organisations that are established to help countries at risk.
April Hill is where new settlers of the April floods reside.
Year 4 teachers Mrs Fiona Maelasi and Mrs Janelle Gideon said their visit to April Hill aimed to give students an experience of a community in Honiara that have experienced a disaster, been relocated to another residential area and have received some assistance from both aid organisations and the government.
Residents of the area are victims of the April 2014 floods and following relocation have had nowhere to send their children to be educated.
Juniper school is run by volunteer teachers and have very little resources.
The students carried in whiteboards, stationary, reading books and boxes of paper to donate to the school from Woodford International School and Uplift Solomon Islands to support the learning of the students.
This was a unique experience for many students and provided them with perspective on how difficult life can be after a disaster.
The Woodford students spent time reading to students, playing games and sharing some laughter.
Woodford students took away an understanding that not all people have the resources they need and that they can do small things that provide a great deal of help to others.
The students will go on to learn more about how their actions can make the world a better place.
How April Hill School formed
After the flash flood in April 2014, Mrs Gladys Raramo and Mrs Monica Ramo have seen the need to help the children of the victims who have missed classes since April flash flood and decided to establish a school for the unfortunate children.
Most of the children are from Koa hill village which was devastated by the flash flood and have been relocated to April Ridge and still living under makeshift tents.
There is no utility service available in the area although the Aid donors and government have promised to help however there is still no service forthcoming for these poor victims.
Seeing the need, the two passionate women with the help of Redley Raramo established the school in October 2014 and enrolled 42 children in a bridging program. Because of the urgency of this need, the coordinating team decided to kick start the formal academic learning February this year. Currently on the ground, there is a thatch roof house accommodating a class of 25 students and a tent with 40 plus students. Although the learning environment is not conducive, both in school resources and finances to run the school-the women were able to manage the school successfully during the first semester.
In the meantime, there are 2 permanent teachers and 3 practical student teachers taking care of the academic needs of the victimized children. By the way, it is all voluntary, with no funding from any donor or the government. However, certain individuals have contributed towards the building materials for a new classroom.
The meaning of Juniper
Juniper is a tree in the wilderness – in the story of Elijah (1 Kings 19:5) when he fled for his life from the wrath of Queen Jezebel; Prophet Elijah rested under a Juniper tree in the wilderness and he was fed by the raven (Bird), gain his strength and left again for his journey. Simultaneously, when the April flash flood children fled from their washed away home in April 2014, there was no hope however through Juniper Christian School-they found their rest and strength- this means Juniper Christian Academic was established to be a hub whereby rest and strength can be restored. This applies to academic, moral and spiritual development respectively.
As such the JCA teachers are determine to continue to provide better education for the least ones in our community.
The school has a school board and several committees to look after the development of the school.
