Sustainable Development Goals
The Project
St Peter’s Early Childhood Education Centre and St John Bosco Primary School are looking for a Computer Literacy Mentor for the teachers at the two schools. The Solomon Islands Ministry of Education and Human Resources (MEHRD) requires teachers to provide reports online and a lot of the information provided by MEHRD is delivered via email. Teachers in the rural areas of Solomon Islands have not had as much access to computer literacy instruction and as such often struggle to meet obligations to MEHRD.
You will be strengthening the capacity of local teachers at both schools.
St Peter’s Early Childhood Centre (kindergarten) has 90 children enrolled in 2024. All denominations are welcome to attend the school. The kindergarten is run out of two classrooms in the St Peter’s Urban Training Centre. The Centre has 5 staff.
St John Bosco Nusabaruku was established to increase educational access for 256 currently enrolled primary aged children coming from communities on the outskirts of Gizo villages where families are from Malaita and Kiribati. The school aims to bring understanding and integration between the different traditions and local languages. The school employs 12 staff.
The Location
Gizo is the capital of the Western Province in Solomon Islands. With a population of 7,177 (as of 2019). It is situated on Gizo Island approximately 380 kilometres (236 miles) west-northwest of the capital, Honiara, and is just southwest of the larger island of Kolombangara.
The Challenge
About 12.7 percent of the population of Solomon Islands lives below the poverty line. Roughly 20 to 25 percent of youth in the country never attend primary school with 30 percent of those attending never completing school. Limited access to education and an adult literacy rate of less than 35 percent perpetuate the cycle of poverty from generation to generation.
Eighty-four percent of Solomon Islanders reside in rural areas and rely on subsistence farming for their livelihoods. Access to health care and other social services is very limited. Transport, electricity and telecommunications infrastructure is poor or non-existent. With the majority of youth living in remote areas with limited educational and employment prospects, overcoming poverty is a challenge.
About You
The Palms participant will need to have:
- Qualifications or relevant experience in teaching basic computer skills.
- Experience in mentoring others.
- Adaptability and flexibility.
- Cultural sensitivity and openness to working within a different cultural context.
- Willingness to work in Gizo for a 12 months, with limited resources and facilities.
- Willingness to engage their Australian community in promoting the work of the host organisation and their role.
How You Will Help
First you must be willing to learn from the local community. You need to commit to clarifying why things are done the way they are rather than presuming from your own cultural lens to outline what is missing. So, you need to ask questions to enable you to learn from your hosts, rather than in ignorance make suggestions about how things can improve. Palms training will prepare you for this approach.
You will:
- Develop materials to aid in basic computer skills development for teachers at the Centre mentoring the teachers at the Centre.
- Deliver effective mentoring for the teachers at the Centre.
- Support teaching of all subjects at the Centre.
Note: The monthly living allowance enables you to live a modest local lifestyle. Based on the cost of living in a particular country, it covers food, your daily commute, communication and other local costs. It is not set to enable you to meet financial commitments at home, such as a mortgage or a personal loan. It will not cover the costs of eating out and other entertainment. Read more about what is covered in our FAQ.