Antioch Community Complete Stream Cleaning Project, Urges Residents to Keep Waterway Clean

HONIARA, Solomon Islands – FOR Rose Maeusia and her team in Antioch Community, completing 20 days of stream cleaning is about more than removing rubbish. It is about helping their neighbors understand that keeping the waterway clean is a responsibility shared by everyone.

Rose leads the Antioch Stream Cleaning Group, whose work area stretches from the Antioch Bridge downstream to the boundary with Namuliki Community. Over the past 20 days, the group has worked to clear rubbish and improve the condition of the stream while encouraging households to take greater responsibility for how they dispose of waste.

“We really enjoy being part of this project,” Rose said.

She said the community has welcomed the initiative, but the group also understands that cleaning the stream alone will not solve the problem if rubbish continues to be thrown into the waterway.

That is why community awareness has become an important part of their work.

“We also do some awareness to our community members – we tell them to keep their rubbish in the bins at their areas,” Rose explained.

The group encourages residents not to throw diapers, plastic and other waste into the stream, while also reminding those who continue to dispose of rubbish improperly that everyone has a role to play in keeping the waterway clean.

For Rose, this message is just as important as the physical work carried out by the group each day.

Rose and her team work eight hours every except for weekends and public holidays. Their 20-day involvement has also provided group members with an opportunity to gain practical skills and experience having previously completed the project’s Redi4Waka training.

Rose said she was grateful for the training provided through the project, which has given members of the group knowledge and skills that they can now apply in their work.

For the group, the project has provided more than an opportunity to work. It has shown how training, employment and community action can come together to address an issue that directly affects the places where people live.

Rose said the experience has also taught members how to work and earn an income to help support their families.

As the Antioch team completes its 20-day stream cleaning activity, Rose hopes the community will continue the work of protecting and maintaining the waterway.

“We look forward to continue working together with the project in helping maintain our stream clean,” she said.

The Antioch Stream Cleaning initiative forms part of CAUSE II’s Stream Cleaning Pilot Project, which is supporting communities along Honiara’s stream corridors to improve local waterways while creating opportunities for community members to gain skills, earn income and participate directly in improving their neighborhoods.

The initiative also highlights the importance of community ownership. While project-supported teams can remove accumulated waste and restore sections of waterways, maintaining those improvements requires residents to change waste disposal practices and work together to prevent rubbish from returning to the streams.

For Rose and her team, completing the 20-day activity is therefore not the end of the effort. It is an opportunity to encourage the wider community to take ownership of the stream and keep it clean long after the project team has finished its work.

CAUSE II is implemented by the Solomon Islands Government with support from the World Bank and the Australian Government through the PNG and Pacific Islands Umbrella Facility Multi-Donor Trust Fund.

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