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The New Zealand Government has announced a second payment of SB$8.5 million (NZ$2 million) to support the Solomon Islands Government commitment to fee-free basic education.
This was jointly announced by Hon Mathew Wale, Solomon Islands Minister for Education and Human Resources Development and the New Zealand High Commissioner, Deborah Pankhurst, in Honiara on 22 June.
The payment is New Zealand’s second payment towards fee-free basic education this year, bringing the New Zealand Government’s contribution to SB$15 million (NZ$3.5 million). It is in addition to New Zealand’s existing commitment of SB$40 million (NZ$10 million) annually to basic education in Solomon Islands.
An assessment in Honiara has shown a 6 percent increase in primary school enrolments and a 4.8 percent increase in secondary school enrolments as a result of the fee-free education policy. A fuller impact assessment is planned for later in the year.
Ms Pankhurst said “Removing the school fees will ensure more children can gain an education and as a result improve their opportunities for employment. It also means that families will have more money available for other important priorities.”
For more information contact rebecca.spratt@nzaid.govt.nz
The United Nations World Refugee Day was commemorated on 20 June.
The number of people around the world who are currently displaced and have been forced to flee their homes because of environmental disasters, deadly violence, and persecution reached 42 million in 2008, a significant figure that looks set to increase in 2009.
New displacements in 2009 have already surpassed 700,000 people, offsetting the decline in displacement numbers from 2008.
Each year New Zealand, through NZAID, contributes significantly to the operation of the main United Nations humanitarian agencies, including the UNHCR, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme, and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
World Refugee Day is an opportunity to highlight the plight of refugees and the important role that governments and other organisations play in protecting refugees, helping to meet their immediate needs, and ultimately restarting their lives.
For more information about the refugee situation worldwide and what New Zealand is doing to help click here.
 - A UNHCR refugee camp in Afghanistan. Photo used courtesy of UN Photo and Luke Powell.
A previous NZAID scholarship recipient, Damba Baasankhu, has recently returned to New Zealand to meet with NZAID and Treasury officials in her capacity as a Senior Adviser to the World Bank as part of a broader familiarisation visit in the region.
Ms Baasankhu, a Mongolian national, received a New Zealand Development Scholarship in 1994 to study economics at Massey University in Palmerston North. She has subsequently worked in high level positions at the Ministry of Finance in Mongolia, and in Washington at the World Bank since 2006. In her current role at the World Bank she is a Senior Adviser to the Executive Director who represents 13 countries at the World Bank including Mongolia, Australia and New Zealand.
Initially Ms Baasankhu found studying free market economics in New Zealand difficult. She had to “start from scratch” as all her previous economics education was based on the Mongolian socialist system. Ms Baasankhu believes the support and encouragement she received from her professors, fellow students, the Massey international students’ office and NZAID scholarships staff made the transition process easier.
Ms Baasankhu credits her scholarship and New Zealand study as giving her direction in life “I don’t think I would be where I am today if I hadn’t had the experience.”
Her current position at the World Bank is for a two-year term. Ms Baasankhu says she is looking forward to returning to Mongolia to transfer the knowledge and experience she has gained while working for the World Bank.
For more information about NZAID’s work with the World Bank contact rachel.mccarthy@nzaid.govt.nz. To find out more about NZAID scholarships visit the website.
NZAID’s Currents magazine is an interesting and informative way to find out more about how New Zealand is working to support development and respond to humanitarian crises in our region, and around the world.
To receive a free copy of the magazine in the post please contact Nadine Koszler with your mailing details or visit NZAID’s website to download a copy.
The latest issue includes stories on disaster risk reduction, aid effectiveness in Cambodia, humanitarian aid during times of war, a close look at New Zealand’s aid programme with Solomon Islands and much more!
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NewZAID updates you in brief on key issues and events on the NZAID agenda. Please click on the useful links included in this newsletter to explore issues in greater depth.
 - Scientists from GNS Science (New Zealand) and the Institute of Geophysics (Viet Nam) work on the project.
With support from NZAID, GNS Science, a Crown research institute, has recently completed a two-year project that aims to minimise the impact of earthquakes and tsunamis in Viet Nam. Such natural hazard events, although infrequent, leave developing communities particularly vulnerable to poverty.
Through the project, funded by NZAID’s Asia Development Assistance Facility, GNS Science worked with its partner organisation in Viet Nam, the Institute of Geophysics (IGP), to build the IGP’s capacity to complete a tsunami hazard assessment for the 3,400km coast line of Viet Nam, as well as a ‘case-study’ tsunami vulnerability assessment for a part of the coast that is rapidly developing.
Viet Nam’s long coast line and low lying regions make it vulnerable to tsunami from the South China Sea, in particular from the Philippines.
Viet Nam’s earthquake activity is lower than New Zealand’s, however its cities are densely populated, and the building design and city infrastructure standards vary greatly. A moderate sized earthquake centred near a heavily populated area has the potential to cause widespread damage and loss of life.
Two major initiatives were undertaken as part of the project. Firstly, with support from GNS Science, the IGP scientists completed a pilot tsunami risk assessment of Nha Trang City, a coastal tourist destination that is one of many areas vulnerable to tsunami. A tsunami hazard model was also developed for the entire Vietnamese coast in this phase of the work.
Secondly, GNS Science led the design and initiation of a national earthquake monitoring network and operations centre in Viet Nam. The initiative is based on the New Zealand GeoNet project, which is recognised as a world-leading project. Installation of the network in Viet Nam will gradually occur over the next five years.
Scientists from the IGP spent a total of four months at GNS Science headquarters in Lower Hutt, Wellington, learning a wide range of skills and techniques in earth science and hazard assessment. In turn, GNS scientists also provided on-site training in Viet Nam.
Workshops were held on issues such as how to study local, regional and distant faults; how to assess coastal and offshore landslides and volcanoes; how to get population data from census records; how to assess the vulnerability of residential and industrial buildings; and how to use all of this information to make regional and national-scale tsunami hazard and risk assessments.
As a result of the successful GNS Science partnership, the IGP has now gained the support of the Viet Nam Government to continue the development of earthquake monitoring capabilities.
GNS Science hopes to continue collaborating with the IGP and has indicated that a number of areas in Viet Nam would benefit from more detailed study. These include the 1,600km-long Red River Fault, a major fault line that passes the capital city of Hanoi. The fault line presents an unknown earthquake risk to the eight million inhabitants of the city.
For more information about this project contact carolyn.marslin@nzaid.govt.nz
 - Ngari high school students in the newly built classroom.
An NZAID funded school that is a prototype for 80 others being rebuilt in the earthquake and tsunami affected provinces of Solomon Islands has received a citation in the World Architecture Community Awards.
Ngari School on the island of Gizo in the Western Province of Solomon Islands was constructed in 11 weeks by the local community. It was designed by the voluntary organisation Emergency Architects Australia for the Solomon Islands Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development. The school is a model for schools that need to be replaced or repaired after the earthquake and tsunami of April 2007.
The building is made using locally sourced materials. Timber is cut on site and the windows are made from hand woven fibre. Efforts have been made to reduce the amount of resources needed to construct the buildings. Creating an air vent gap around the top of outer walls resulted in using 25 percent less wood than would normally be used for constructing a similar building. The air gap also has the added benefit of cooling the classrooms in the Pacific heat. The school has been designed to better withstand earthquakes and other disasters.
The World Architecture Community is an independent global forum and extensive database of architects from countries throughout the world. The community is linked via their website, which acts as a reference point for architects worldwide.
The aim of the World Architecture Community Awards is to highlight and promote remarkable architecture projects that might otherwise remain unnoticed by the international public. Novelty, originality and creativity are all major criteria for the awards.
In an interview with Radio New Zealand International, Emergency Architects Solomon Islands Project Director, David Kaunitz, recognised the significant support received from the local community to construct the new Ngari school building.
“[There was] tremendous community help, often 30 volunteers every day, building the building and carrying timber to the site. The building was built in 11 weeks, which is quite an incredible amount of time for it to be built anywhere, let alone a place where every piece of timber has to be hand cut, hand hammered and holes drilled by hand” Mr Kaunitz said.
Infrastructure officers were also given on-the-job training while building Ngari School. The officers will monitor the construction of the remaining schools by the local communities.
The construction of Ngari School is part of the wider Recovery Action and Rehabilitation Project, which aims to rebuild 80 schools in the Western and Choiseul provinces. NZAID has committed up to NZ$5 million to the project that is also supported by the European Union and the Solomon Islands Government. The project is being managed by UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund).
A majority of the school buildings in the Western and Choiseul provinces were destroyed or damaged by the effects of the earthquake and tsunami. The lack of proper maintenance and/or construction prior to the disaster also contributed to the damage. Approximately 18,250 students have had their schooling significantly disrupted. UNICEF tents are currently being used as temporary school buildings in several areas.
For more information about the Recovery Action and Rehabilitation Project email kathleen.pearce@nzaid.govt.nz
 - Students at a Samoan primary school with new reading material. With New Zealand support school fees are becoming more affordable for Samoan families.
Foreign Minister Murray McCully has announced that New Zealand is to provide up to NZ$1 million to help disadvantaged families in Samoa meet the cost of school fees.
There is evidence that school attendance is falling, and that many parents are currently unable to afford to pay school fees for their children.
“The global economic crisis, inflation, and increasing unemployment have led to real hardship for some families in Samoa,” Mr McCully said.
“It is important that current financial climate does not undermine the good progress Samoa has made in enrolling and keeping young people in the education system. Therefore New Zealand and Australia have agreed to jointly support a Samoan government initiative that will target families most in need of help, in order to keep as many children as possible attending classes,” Mr McCully said.
The Australian government will also be contributing A$2 million to the initiative.
New Zealand’s development programme is aligned with Samoa’s national development priorities and focuses on human resource development, improving public sector service delivery and ensuring the recent benefits of economic growth are transferred to all, particularly those people in rural areas. In 2008/09 New Zealand’s bilateral assistance to Samoa was NZ$10.5 million, with an estimated further NZ$4.5 million in regional assistance.
For more information on NZAID’s work in Samoa visit the NZAID website or email mike.seawright@nzaid.govt.nz
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