SafeGround has been researching and documenting the legacy of WW2 in the Solomon Islands since 2008. We see bomb incidents happening in both rural settings and in the last few years in particular in Honiara and its surroundings. Communities are experiencing disasters as remaining WW2 munitions are causing deaths, physical injuries, and emotional trauma. There are challenging effects far beyond the immediate victims, including extended families, church communities, and entire neighbourhoods.
We see harm in the wider communities as well. SafeGround believes it is critical to address these issues through a comprehensive approach, including risk education in the wider community to prevent accidents from taking place, emotional trauma intervention during the crisis and onward, and small income-generating projects to lessen the burden of financial stress for victims and their extended families. We recognise every additional disaster may trigger further stress for bomb survivors.
In 2023 we met with Maeverlyn Pitannoe, a professional educator. In 2021, she survived a WW2 bomb blast while cooking. She has enormous passion to prevent bomb accidents and to help her community heal after these traumas. (Maeverlyn has been featured in ABC’s Foreign Correspondent, SBS and other international TV and print media.) Through her community kitchen, where she provides affordable healthy food for local children, she runs cooking classes, training for income-generating projects and community leadership training, in addition to risk education and supporting a survivors network.
SafeGround has decades of experience in risk education and has also worked on PTSD and trauma intervention. We hope to support local emergency responders such as EOD Police teams and other emergency responders to provide emotional support to local people experiencing everyday tragedies. We have an extensive network on the ground in the Solomon Islands, with local government institutions, commercial operators and civil society.
We are seeking partners who would like to help Maeverlyn and SafeGround to create resilient communities in the Solomon Islands. We hope that will be you!
