BY IRWIN ANGIKI

Bellona island, a lush green tropical paradise surrounded by white beaches and blue sea, fondly called ‘Island of love’ by its people – is empty.

Most parts of the year, residents of the Island of love are said to be only a handful of the total population – mainly children and the elderly.

Bellona is a victim of urban drift as its abled citizens have left the island for the glamour of Honiara.

The 2019 census puts Bellona’s population at around 2,000. It is estimated that 90 percent of this live in Honiara with a few dozen abroad.

Barnabas Suainiu, 73, a community leader and tourism operator on Bellona, believes the urban drift is due mainly to lack of economic opportunities on the island.

“There is simply no opportunity to make worth-while revenue for a young energetic person on Bellona, or a concerned parent with children to support,” Mr Suainiu said.

The only revenue generating activities on Bellona include running a canteen, which has its own nightmare with cultural expectations of discounts or taking items on credit, most of which never gets paid.

However, retail outlets is a small-scale money-making venture which has no hope of luring one from the comforts of Honiara to return to Bellona to start one. Canteens are run and operated mostly by people who are permanent residents of the island.

Several small community projects have occurred which have offered wages for a handful of residents, such as the wharf currently being built on the western end of the island.

Furthermore, there is a widely held belief that quality education can be attained in Honiara compared to the primary and secondary education service offered there.

A mother-of-three who asked to only be called Lisa, 42, said her family had moved to Honiara to be closer to her eldest who is doing form-5 in one of the schools in the capital.

“When my son was in form-2 we decided to move to Honiara for the sake of his education because of a lot of challenges faced with the school back home, which include lack of teachers, not enough educational materials being taught and lack of resources such as library and computers,” Lisa said.

Daley Tesuatai, 49, a principal of one of the primary schools on Bellona, agrees that education on Bellona is facing a lot of challenges.

“Education on Bellona has been faced with challenges for decades. It is due to a lot of factors which have continued through out the years,” he said.

Early childhood, primary and secondary education are offered on Bellona. Secondary level stops at form-5.

Sports is another pull-factor of Honiara. People of Bellona love their sport, especially rugby, followed by basketball, volleyball, soccer and netball.

“A lot of Bellonese in Honiara are neither schooling nor working, but decide to remain in Honiara simply because they love sports, especially rugby, and are attracted to the leagues and tournaments rugby authorities in Honiara host through out the year,” Kevin, 35, a resident of Bellona said.

There’s also a portion who are often jokingly referred to as ‘tourists’, who are decide to live in the capital for other reasons.

Tourism could be a big answer

So, what could take place on Bellona to reverse this trend?

Tourism stands out among the list of possibilities.

Mr Suainiu believes tourism is the most practical sector that Bellona already has potential in which could be tapped in the hopes of luring able-bodied Bellonese back to the island.

“We have what a lot of international tourists and potential tourists who are city-dwellers, want, which are lush green island, white sandy beaches, ideal scuba diving coral sites, deep sea waters, virgin forests for bush hiking, and a blessed clean and fresh air,” Suainiu, owner of Bellona’s leading Suani Guesthouse, said.

Having been in the tourism and hospitality business for more than three decades, Suainiu said a lot of Bellonese living in Honiara have land, the main capital to start a tourism business, on which they can build accommodation facilities.

Support from the country’s tourism authorities and Bellona’s political leaders have been lacking or not enough through out the years, Suainiu said.

“Training should be made easily available for anyone wishing to venture into the tourism and hospitality business. We have the potential to offer the best eco-tourism in the country,” he said.

If leaders and government are looking to address the urban drift and unemployment problems on Bellona, tourism is the best area to begin, he said.

Too big a burden to carry alone.

Often the blame is thrown on political leaders, who are expected to lift Bellona of its knees. But, the incumbents are also facing challenges of their own.

Premier of Rennell Bellona province, Derek Pongi, speaking to Island Sun yesterday said urban drift in the province and on Bellona is a huge problem, one which has been there well before his government came to power.

“My government has economic policies which aim to address many challenges in the province, one of which is urban drift and unemployment. But, it is difficult to implement successfully alone,” Mr Pongi said.

“Since coming to power, my government has passed two PCDF funding programmes, which has not been enough.

“Several opportunities which could help with employment lined up next year include survey of East Rennell airfield, continued work on the wharf on Bellona, upgrade of township and a number of fisheries centres to be built in the province,” Pongi said.

Member of Parliament for Rennell and Bellona constituency John Tuhaika Jnr echoes that urban drift and unemployment are age-old problems affecting Bellona.

He proactively has set in motion programmes and development plans which could hopefully reverse Bellona’s outward migration trend.

“People prefer Honiara mainly because Bellona lacks basic infrastructure such as housing, power, water and sanitation, and look to Honiara for answers. But it is not guaranteed that coming to Honiara one would get employed.

“For short term solutions seasonal work, which after a challenging 18 months in office we have finally set to kick next year, will enable people of Bellona to afford these basic needs.

“Projects which will reinforce this include housing project underway on Bellona, solar project and a desalination plant. Another major development, the wharf, will make people of Bellona realise the comfort of living on the island and investing there,” MP Tuhaika Jnr said.

Optimism looking ahead

As leaders of Bellona and the province struggle to address the problems, the people of Bellona living outside look forward to returning to the Island of love to spend the holidays this year’s end.

This is the only time Bellona comes alive with residents and visiting family members enjoy the Christmas and New Year festivities.

“We look forward to MP Tuhaika Jnr’s project line up for next year, which will lift us up,” says Kevin.

“For now, let us enjoy Christmas and New Year 2026 in the Island of Love.”

*Reporting for this story was supported by Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS)

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