Conservation supporting education

Adrian Ghele, KIBCA Administration Officer KIBCA, presents an Educational Scholarship cheque to Mr. Michael Tanento, Headmaster Ringgi Community High School.

In May KIBCA commenced delivery of funds from its 2012 Educational Scholarship Program. This year 120 individual Scholarships worth $90,000 will be granted to assist students from the Island.

The scholarship program is a direct benefit from the establishment of the Kolombangara Island conservation area. The 20,000 hectare conservation area, the largest in the Solomon Islands, has attracted international and national support for the scholarship scheme. This year scholarships were awarded to students from Kolombangara Island enrolled in Forms Four through to Seven. The 120 students are spread over 22 schools located in the Western Province, Guadalcanal, Malaita and Makira.

KIBCA presented a cheque to Mr. Michael Tanento, Headmaster of the Ringgi Community High School, last week. The cheque is for scholarships awarded to 15 students attending the school. Mr. Tanento, said the school was very appreciative of the support each scholarship provides his students.

“On behalf of the school, the students and their families I would like to say thank you to KIBCA. This will help the students greatly with their education”, said Mr. Tanento.

Ferguson Vaghi, KIBCA coordinator, said the KIBCA Scholarship scheme is becoming a popular and important component of KIBCA’s conservation program. “It is very important to support the education of our young people here on Kolombangara. These young students will be the leaders of tomorrow’, said Mr. Vaghi.

Financial support for the scholarship program has been provided from the Kolombangara Forest Products Limited, American Museum of Natural History, through the Solomon Island Community Conservation Partnership (SICCP) and individual donors from Australia.

will continue to promote the strong link between education and conservation with another round of scholarships to be made available in 2013. Families from Kolombangara Island with students attending school can contact the KIBCA office in Ringgi to receive more information on the Educational Scholarship Program.

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