Last week, Siena College was thrilled to welcome Dominican Sisters of Eastern Australia and Solomon Islands representatives, Sisters Veronica and Stephany to our College community. Staff and students had the opportunity to learn about the climate change challenges and the current needs existing in the Solomon Islands, as well as how our annual St Catherine's Day fundraising efforts have been supporting the Ruavatu community. In 2021, a total of $28,000.00 SD was raised to help improve the Ruavatu community's living and working conditions. Read below to find out more.
"As a representative of the Dominican Sisters of Eastern Australia and Solomon Islands working and serving the young people out in the remote area of Guadalcanal, I would like to thank Siena College Admin, Board of Management, parents and students for donating $28,000.00 SD to our Ruavatu community. Your generous contribution has made a huge difference to our living and working conditions. It provided us with security, convenience and comfort, for we are able to renovate the toilet and shower block, as well as the outside leaf hut for visitors and students. We also bought a rainwater tank to collect clean and safe water for consumption and dug a well to retrieve underground water for toilets and laundry purposes. A laundry stand has also been installed for washing our clothes. Thank you so much."
Entrance to the toilet and shower block via the sleeping quarters
A new brick wall has been built for the toilet and shower block: This allows the Ruavatu community to access these facilities from inside of the house
(L-R): Rain water tank and newly dug well to retrieve underground water
Leaf hut for visitors and students
