Train a Youth to Build a Nation- Waimapuru Celebrates Silver Jubilee

Hello again frens,

As a former Waimapuru student, having spent the whole of my high school life there, I wish to congratulate the Government and the past and present staff and students of Waimapuru for the achievements and many challenges that the School as an instutition has encountered so far.

Waimapuru has helped to mould and sharpen many individuals over the last 25 years and it will continue to do so many more years to come. In Waima, I have made unforgetable friends, both from the staff and students communities and I have also nurtured many memorable experiences, good and bad. It was at Waima that I learnt how to speak proper pidgin and learnt and unerstand more or better about what a "town" is.

I had friends who are town-based, from schools like Woodford, Chung Wa, St. Nicholas, and so forth who have helped in my imaginations of what the "6 storey-building" looks like and how many vehilces there are in the roads of Honiara, about the bigs ships that berth there and about movies and videos. Their explanations and from what I learnt from books, and teachers my contemporary world view was moulded and shaped. I realised today that I was not the only person going through that transition but there were others. And all of these individuals, including myself will always hold a close attachment to Waimapuru.

Nationally, Waimapuru holds a very important place in the education system and structure of Solomon Islands. It has produced many prominent leaders and individuals who today are helping to develop Solomon Islands. Indeed it has lived up to its motto: "Train a Youth to Build a Nation". And being one of the only few existing government-owned schools, Waimapuru represents an important direct link to the people by the government. With the curent swift towards education privitisation, we do hope that this very important relationship between the government and the people through education is maintained or better still enhanced.

Over the years, we have heard the government's declared intention to have a national universtiy. On this note, apart from SICHE, Waimapuru can stand as a very suitable location to host a national tertiary institution of that calibre. Waimapuru has abundant land mass and fertile soil, cooperative and negotiable landowners and lovely and friendly surrounding communities. It has ready access to road and the nearest sea port is just a few kilometres away. Above all and most importantly, Makira is always a good place to be so having an unversity there will serve no harm at all(ha!ha!ha!- anyway, this is not a promotional stunt for makira).

So as we join in the silver jubilee celebrations of Waimapuru, as a nation we must reflect back on the achievements and challenges we have ecnountered so far in our education system, especially through Waimapuru, and envisage on what the future will become.

GOD BLESS WAIMAPURU...GOD BLESS SOLOMON ISLANDS
HAPPY SILVER JUBILEE