A hope for a bright future

“Children must understand that education enables them to get a good job so they can look themselves when they are adults. Most importantly, children must know how to respect one another,” says Margaret, 39, and mother of two daughters.

Margaret is a member of the Community Hope Action Team (CHAT) in her home community. As a CHAT member, Margaret is empowered with the skills to facilitate positive change and appropriate support inside her community regarding gender inequality and gender-based violence through World Vision’s Community Channels of Hope project (CCOH). She believes that positive changes in society always begin at home.

“I have high hopes for my daughters when they grow up. I want them to be able to succeed with their education and become wholesome individuals,” shared Margaret.

Her youngest daughter Cynthia is always excited to learn new things, whether in school or at home; “My name is Cynthia and I am ten years old. My favourite subject is maths and I really want to become a doctor one day when I graduate from school. I love my mum because she helps me a lot with my school work. She also taught me how to fish and cook dinner. My mother is my idol,” added Cynthia.

Margaret spends a lot of time with her daughters in the community while her husband works in Honiara. “I teach my daughters about respect and how to earn it. I teach them about the equal responsibilities that men and women share on this earth,” said Margaret as she hugged her daughter.

One of the most significant consequences of gender inequality in the Solomon Islands is the high level of gender-based violence women face. A recent study from the World Health Organisation (WHO) found that in the Solomon Islands, 64% of women aged 15 to 49 years have experienced some form of physical or sexual intimate partner violence.

Funded by the Australian government, the CCOH project works to reduce violence against women and gender inequality in target communities. It partners with the national government, church leaders, communities and civil society organisations to adopt the Community Channels of Hope for Gender approach and utilises it in faith-based teachings across the Solomon Islands.