𝗦𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗦

The Fijian Contingent in the Solomon Islands, ‘𝘛𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘪 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘢’ embarked on a community engagement on Thursday (09 December) to commemorate this year’s Sappers Day. Contingent Commander Lt Col Asaeli Toanikeve led a team consisting of Sappers on community work within the capital Honiara to build rapport with the local community in the aftermath of the recent heightened security situation.

Their first assignment was the clean-up of the War Memorial Cemetery where five Fiji Military Forces soldiers lay at rest. The soldiers had lost their lives during the battle for Guadalcanal in the Second World War. The sixth grave in the cemetery is that of the late Senior Pastor Panapasa Rasara Balekana, a Fijian born Solomon Island musician and composer who later composed the Solomon Island national anthem.

The second community engagement was the clean-up of the Solidarity and Friendship Monument. This monument was unveiled in July of 2013 by the Honorable Prime Minister, Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Frank Bainimarama to reflect the relationship and strong bond between the people of Fiji and the Solomons.

The team also acknowledged that the community engagement would not have been possible without the assistance of Mr Reginald Douglass of Vuna, Taveuni.

Today (Friday 10 December), the Sappers Day event will culminate with a Church service and a feast to acknowledge and pay tribute to our Sappers for their contribution to nation-building and infrastructure development. Sappers Day is affectionately named after the lowest rank of the corp – as in ‘Private’ for the corp of Infantry.