18 November 2013
OPERATION RENDER SAFE REBUILDS YANDINA SCHOOL
While much of the Operation Render Safe activities in the Solomon Islands have taken place in and around the capital of Honiara, communities in other parts of the country have not been forgotten. A group of Royal Australian Air Force and Australian Army Explosive Ordinance (EOD) technicians along with Royal Australian Navy sailors and officers based on HMAS Tarakan have been working on the clearing of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) and rebuilding classrooms at the local community school at Yandina in the Russell Islands in the country’s Central Province.
The Operation Render Safe EOD technicians in the Russell Islands have been kept very busy with more than 900 items having been found so far on land and at sea. These have ranged from Japanese influence ground mines in the water that were designed to disable shipping, to more than 50 bounding anti-personnel mines on land around Yandina, the main township in the Russell Islands. Much of this ordinance was found and disposed of in coconut plantations near Yandina and the safety of workers in these plantations will be improved as result of the Operation Render Safe Work.
RAAF EOD technician Sergeant Luke Troy was working on the EOD tasks around Yandina and described the task as extremely gratifying.
“We have cleared over 50 anti-personnel mines from one of the local palm plantations and for me, knowing that the local kids I have met will be able to play in these plantations with risk of serious harms is one of the best parts of this job.”
While EOD staff were engaging in making the area safe, the remaining Operation Render Safe were renovating classrooms at the Yandina Community High School. These renovations included new internal and external walls, repainting and repairing windows. School Principal Augustine Olibuma said that the assistance had been very welcome.
“We heard a month ago that the Navy was coming to help our school and we have been very excited and looking forward to this job. “
“I would like to express how happy the school community has been to see the Navy come here to help with the maintenance and repair of our buildings,” said Mr Olibumu.
Commander of Operation Render Safe Commander Doug Griffiths, RAN said that it was good to see his Task Force members performing well on both fronts - community and EOD.
“Our core task is to remove Explosive Remnants of War and the reports coming back from the Russell Islands indicate that we are certainly doing that. But the fact that we have other personnel in the Islands means we can combine with the resources of the Australian Government’s aid program to deliver better education facilities in the local community.
“Our men and women who were able to help out at the Yandina School were glad for the opportunity to make a contribution alongside our EOD efforts that will have a long lasting effect in the area.” concluded Commander Griffiths.
Operation Render is a RAN led, multinational Task Force of more than 150 members tasked with removing unexploded Word War II munitions from local communities in the Solomon Islands.
Operation RENDER SAFE 2013 is running from 29 October 2013 to 7 December 2013.
For More information contact Operation Render Safe 7798835