Boys attending St Joseph’s College Mabiri in Bougainville now have access to vastly-improved toilet and bathroom facilities, thanks to the fundraising efforts of the local community and Australian Marist Solidarity (AMS) supporters.
Marist Brothers Community Leader at Mabiri, Brother Brendan Sinei, says that two disused amenity blocks have been completely renovated, and are now fully operational.
This gives the school’s students, including 354 boarders, who are aged between 13 and 21 years, a much safer and more hygienic learning environment.
St Joseph’s College Mabiri was built in 2000, after the original school in Rigu was destroyed during the civil war in Bougainville. Students and staff members, however, have not been able to use any of the three derelict toilet and bathroom buildings for more than five years. They have had no other option than to use the nearby river and bushland for bathroom purposes.
Not only has this caused concerns about students’ privacy, but it has increased the risk of hygiene-related health problems, and it pollutes the river.
With numbers at the school steadily rising, school leaders, including Brother Brendan, have developed plans to rebuild the school’s three amenity blocks.
Students at Mabiri, and their families, have made every effort to raise funds, and our Australian network of donors have generously supported the school to achieve its plans.
On behalf of the Marist Brothers working in Bougainville, AMS is once again appealing to our Australian supporters to help raise funds to redevelop the third amenity block.
Brother Brendan, says “I believe the project will have a sufficient [sic] positive impact on our students’ learning environment and the social life of the school more broadly.”
He says it will also improve student attendance and punctuality, and enable the school to better accommodate guests, including Australian students on immersion.
Please visit our website and support our appeal to raise funds to complete the final stage of renovations to St Joseph’s College Mabiri’s toilet and shower facilities and help us create a better learning environment for this community that needs our support.
Featured image (above) by Conor Ashleigh