TARD Leaders meet with Malaita Diocesan Bishop

The To'abaita Authority for Research and Development Chairman and Vice Chairman have successfully met with the Catholic Bishop for Malaita Diocese at the Trade Winds Hotel in Suva yesterday.

The Malaita Diocesan Bishop Christopher Cardone is currently in Suva for a week long Oceania Bishop's Conference, which takes place every four years. He will then fly off to the United States on Saturday before returning to the Solomon Islands on Sepetember 5 2006.

The meeting with Bishop Chris Cardone was convened as a result of initial discussions between the To'abaita Authority for Research and Development (TARD) and the Mahitahi Catholic Overseas Volunteers in New Zealand. Mahitahi is the development assistance agency of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference. It is a requirement for development assistance by Mahitahi that the appropriate Diocesan authority, in this case the Malaita Diocesan Bishop, approves a local request for assistance before it can be considered.

The meeting started off with a briefing of the objectives and goals of TARD, followed by discussion on our proposed projects for submission. At the end of the meeting, we have managed to secure the full support of the Malaita Diocesan Bishop indicating that we can proceed to submit our request for the agreed community project. So far, Mahitahi's programmes are only implemented in Guadalcanal and Gizo Diocesans and the proposed project that TARD is pursuing will be the first Mahitahi programme on Malaita Province. That is the principal reason why the Director of Mahitahi is also keen in supporting TARD towards the successful implementation of the proposed project.

Finally, we would like to sincerely thank Bishop Chris Cardone and Mahitahi for their willingness and commitment to work in partnership with the To'abaita Authority for Research and Development student volunteer organization.