Uepi Island Resort - Community News

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Uepi Community News - Local Projects

Chubikopi War Canoe
Septebmer 2008

Chubikopi Village has begun the construction of a new War Canoe. The keel has been laid & work is proceeding with 'master' builders passing on the traditional skills to younger men. Peter Mara, Uepi Dive Instructor, is an energetic driving force on the Chubikopi Cultural Committee & is pressing hard with this project. The photo shows Tuili, a carpenter at Uepi, with the new keel. We will be following this with interest & updating the website with photos over the coming months. The money earned from cultural performances is paying for this project. Should you wish to help keep this initiative afloat (pun intended) then contact info@uepi.com

Medical visit to the Marovo Lagoon
May 2008

In other community news, in May, we assisted the Loloma Foundation team of doctors who brought in USD$1 million worth of equipment for clinics and hospitals around the Solomons including a 3 day medical clinic at Seghe attended by Dentists and various medical specialists. Loloma Foundation is a non-profit organisation which provides medical support in remote destinations.

Simbo girls
by Imogen Stafford
Sept 2007

Uepi Island Resort has recently been hosting two Solomon girls, aged 15 and 17, after their lengthy ordeal with the Tsunami that hit the Solomon Islands in April this year. Naomi Lodeu and Lovelyn Pose were living in a small village, Masurau, on Simbo Island when the wave hit. They, along with many other village members, fled to the bush to escape, leaving their homes and possessions to the wrath of the wave and the devastation it caused. Their school and home were helplessly flattened along with most other dwellings in the village. Naomi and Lovelyn survived the hardship of two weeks in the jungle with no supplies, and only managed to eat by sharing food with people whose crops had not been destroyed. With no clothing or any of their personal items, they sought help from their Aunt in the town of Chubi Kopi. From here, they gained contact with Uepi Island who immediately responded to assist them with their problems.

As their school no longer exists, they are being funded by Uepi to attend a boarding school for as long as is necessary to complete their aspired education. These two young girls, arriving at Uepi with nothing but the clothes on their backs, worked enthusiastically as staff of Uepi Island Resort for a short while, earning enough pocket money to get them by at school, and have been presented with clothes and school supplies to last them their first stint of boarding. The wonderful smiles on these girls are continuing to blossom and thankfully, due to the support coming from Uepi staff and friends and by use of the items donated by guests, their lives will follow suit.

We sincerely wish to thank the following people for use of their photographs in our website:

Peter Lange, Peter Pinnock, Oceania Films/Matt Guest, Eric Cheng, Fred Bavendam, Andy Belcher, Manuela Kirschner, Louise Murray, Roberto Rinaldi, Mark Strickland/Oceanic Impressions, Jill Kelly, Grant Kelly, Wes Kelly and Jason Kelly.