Inspired by Jesus’ example of caring for the whole person, communities work together offering adult literacy classes, positive parenting programs, improved access to water and toilets, and initiatives that tackle climate change.

The Solomon Islands is a beautiful archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, to the east of Papua New Guinea. Climate change is having a tangible impact on the natural environment, increasing the frequency of severe cyclones and strong storm surges. Rising sea levels have already claimed six of the islands, forcing inhabitants to abandon their homes and seek refuge on neighbouring lands.

Freda leads a network of 16 environmental observatories spread across the islands. Their work is simple yet profound: gathering the data that shows how quickly the climate is changing. 

“I have a passion for caring for nature,” say Freda Fataka from the Solomon Islands. “I know that God created us, so we too need to be good stewards of Creation.”

Freda is a guardian of the land and sea and works as the Environmental Observatory Coordinator for the Anglican Church of Melanesia (ACOM) in the Solomon Islands.

She is just one of many people working for ACOM, inspiring young and old alike to participate in simple yet profound work: gathering the data that shows how quickly the climate is changing.

Climate Change and Disaster Management in the Solomon Islands

“Students are involved in every aspect of the planting cycle,” Farm manager, Chris says, “from sowing of seeds to mulching, weeding, harvesting and selling.” 

The garden becomes both a classroom and a symbol of resistance.

At this sustainable farm in Honiara, students from St Nicholas Anglican College participate in a nine-week practical placement, taught by farm manager Chris Bugoro. “Students are involved in every aspect of the planting cycle,” says Chris, “from sewing of seeds to mulching, weeding, harvesting and selling.” © ABM/ Isabel Robinson.

ABM AID collaborates with ACOM in the Solomon Islands to tackle the pressing challenges of disaster preparedness and climate change. Together, they help communities strengthen their resilience by planting trees and building sea walls to defend coastlines from rising seas, by establishing demonstration gardens to improve food security, and by hosting community awareness sessions on hygiene (often paired with new water tank installations), disaster readiness, and positive parenting workshops. Their work also includes gathering vital climate data, with local teams monitoring sea levels, rainfall, and temperatures across the islands to better understand and respond to a changing environment.

A lot of people within ACOM are working hard to collect data and take action to mitigate against the effects of climate change.

In Honiara, a garden becomes both a classroom and a symbol of resilience. At St Nicholas’ Anglican College, students take their learning even further (www.abmission.org/partners/melanesia)

WASH and Literacy and Numeracy in Vanuatu 

ABM AID’s other work with the Anglican Church of Melanesia takes place in Vanuatu and involves Water, Sanitation and Hygiene work as well as Adult Literacy and Numeracy training.

By June 2025, ABM AID and the Anglican Church of Melanesia in Vanuatu (ACOM V) had reached 4,387 people through a water, sanitation and adult literacy program. The literacy component of the program involves 22 volunteer teachers and 258 students spread across ten islands. In the village of Wasaka, fourteen young people who had left school early returned to formal education after gaining confidence through adult literacy classes.

In Merelaen, one woman living with a disability described how these classes had reshaped her world. “I have been able to take part in … Bible readings in church and community discussions. I am no longer scared and do not feel left out.”

Her words echoed those of many learners: Learning to read and write was unlocking dignity, participation and possibility.

Fr Willie Loli, parish priest at Revelco on Santo Island in Vanuatu, with two 500-litre water tanks (one in the shed), both intended for use by people living with disabilities. © ABM/ Terry Russell.

While literacy changes lives in quiet, personal ways, the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) activities reached even further. From 2021 to 2025, ACOM V had installed 24 water supply systems, from rainwater tanks to piped spring systems. They also built 37 model latrines with ventilation pipes, helping communities adopt safer sanitation practices.

The entire program, even the hygiene messaging, is shaped with local customs and needs in mind. Communities saw their own knowledge reflected in the designs, which strengthened ownership and pride.

The program also makes a deliberate effort to ensure fairness. Women, young people, single women headed households and people with disabilities are prioritised. Many of the model latrines are installed at the homes of people with disabilities, ensuring they are not left behind.

Vanuatu, ACOM Literacy Schools

The Anglican Church of Melanesia supports locally led initiatives to address the current and emerging challenges that will impact future generations. Each week in November you can find out about the programs that this appeal will support.

In Vanuatu, ACOM runs literacy schools that give people a second chance at education. Ray Jounto, a literacy student from Vanualava, shared how learning to read and write has reshaped his world.

“When I was illiterate, I felt left out. I felt I was no use to my community. But then I learned to read, write and count. Now I can read the Bible in church, and I was assistant foreman in the building of a new church in Wasaka. My community now views me as a useful resource person.”

Ray was only 6 when his father died – his widowed mother could not afford the fees to keep her son in school.

For many years Ray fished to make a living, but in 2015, he got the chance to enrol in an ACOM literacy school on his island.

Slowly but surely, he began to understand letters, words, and numbers. Soon, Ray used his new skills to write letters to his mother, and help his three children with their homework, which made him immensely proud.

His passion for learning ignited, Ray kept up the momentum and in 2022 enrolled in a carpentry course run by ACOM. Now that he understood numbers, Ray could make sense of measuring centimetres and metres.

He applied his new carpentry skills by building his own house. With this success, Ray started getting carpentry contracts right around Vanualava. (2026 Archbishop of Brisbane’s Appeal – JustGiving)

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