austraLasia From - Fri Nov 07 #1
GUADALCANAL - Honiara: Tetere parish, some 35 kms from the town centre Honiara (capital of Solomon Islands, South Pacific), is one of the newer Salesian presences in the world, and part of the developing Salesian presence in the South Pacifc. The South Pacific is home to 7 million inhabitants, (4.5 of whom are in Papua New Guinea) and Solomon Islands, with 992 islands, is the second largest landmass and population. Scene of one of the fiercest naval and air battles in the Pacific War Theatre of WWII, Tetere parish is now grateful for the presence of the Salesian Japanese confreres, three in all, who are looking after the pastoral needs of this rural and isolated area. The parish comprises a coastal plain almost 50% of which is under plantation with oil palms but which is also 'urbanised' by the British Commonwealth Development Corporation residential centres, five in all; and beyond the plain is the mountain range, home to hundreds of scattered villages, most unreachable without hours and even days of walking. The beginnings of this new Salesian mission are slow, yet steady. There is an immense amount of work to be done for the young of this underdeveloped, malaria-ridden neck of the Melanesian woods. Birthrate, illiteracy and lack of communications are all running at a world high! Confreres of the Japan Province have shown courage and resourcefulness in taking on the task. The young Don Bosco Volunteer Group has already visited from Tokyo and helped in the construction of buildings and a basketball court.