THE Rapid Employment Project (REP) has scaled down its activities as the project transitions this year into preparation for a follow up phase.

Despite this some schools and communities are still benefiting from the project’s activities.

One such school is Vura Community School which has classes ranging from Pre-school to Form 6. The school’s current total student population is 876 with 44 staff members.

The school is located at the edge of a valley and so have to expand by building more classrooms on the hill side.

Having appropriate access infrastructure within the school is therefore a very pressing need and so the school Principal applied to the Rapid Employment Project for assistance with footpaths within the school.

Work is currently underway at the school to put in place concrete footpaths around the classrooms as well as to connect the buildings and therefore providing safe and secure access for students and staff.

The school principal, Allan Ketei expressed deep appreciation to the Project and said the work is very timely as the school is expanding to accommodate double streams right from form one to form six.

He said the footpaths and ladder will not only provide safe and secure access for the students and staff but will also beautify the school.

He also described the projects inputs as long term not only because the paths and ladder are made of concrete but because the future generation is being educated, trained and equipped to be useful members of the nation at the school and although the school is located in Honiara, the student population also comprise pupils from all over the country so it is an investment that benefits the whole nation, remarked Mr Ketei.

Data at the REP office would now show that to date the project has already helped build forty-three similar small access projects (mostly Jacob’s ladders, concrete footpath and creek crossings) in the outskirts of Honiara and there is still demand for more.

Apart from the daily street cleaning that REP supports, construction of these small access infrastructure has become widely popular and much in demand from many communities of Honiara.

The current REP has been extended until December 2018 with the recently approved fourth additional financing amounting to US$1.9 million. REP is supported through grant funds from the World Bank and the government of Australia, and is jointly implemented by the HCC and MID.

–BY REP COMMUNICATIONS