Solomon Islands District Special Report - Emergency Services

Salvation Army Emergency Services

SPECIAL REPORT April 2019 Feature Insert

Report written by Major Robert Evans The Salvation Army Emergency Services (SAES) Team engaged in their first public deployment during the National General Election (NGE). For six days over the election period the SAES catered for the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) in Guadalcanal at the Henderson Police Station. This partnership with the RSIPF enabled the newly formed SAES team to gain valuable experience catering for large numbers and provided a high profile introduction of this new service to the Solomon Islands. Our team was well

the AFP and ADF personnel who flew in specifically for this event.

For the Solomon Islands, this was the first national election since the departure of RAMSI (Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands) in 2017 after the period of the “Tensions” with law and order restored and policing returned to the local police force. While there was no specific threat, maintaining security was of high concern for the government and police in a nation where ‘wantok’ allegiance runs deep and emotions are

the RSIPF who have never before been served in such a manner by the Churches in Solomon Islands (according to Provincial Police Commander Evelyn Thugea). During the week a number of police personnel and even members of the public asked our team members if we were being paid to provide this service.

The response by our SAES Chaplain captured beautifully the spirit behind our service, “No! We are serving those who serve our nation.” This is a powerful testimony to the attitude of our team

supported by the RSIPF Quartermaster, who provided daily food supplies and other logistics support throughout the week. The food supplied by the RSIPF enabled us to provide a quality menu that earned us the reputation of having the best meals across the three catering locations in Guadalcanal. Even the Commissioner of Police commented favourably when he called into Henderson Police Station on election day.

high. Fortunately, the effort paid off with the week of the general election being largely incident free (the election of the Prime Minister is on the 24th April and similar security operations are in force).

who have fully embraced the Army’s “Heart to God, Hand to Man” mission. I believe the amazing performance of our SAES team during this operation has laid a positive foundation for future service opportunities, not only with the RSIPF but other agencies at community events or in disaster situations.

The National General Election evoked a huge security operation by the RSIPF, with support from local Correctional Services,

The opportunity to serve the RSIPF during such a significant national event provided The Salvation Army with a unique opportunity to demonstrate its capability to provide valuable community services.

For most of the members of this newly formed SAES team, they have never before had the opportunity to engage in such a voluntary role. It is also a first for

In the lead up to the NGE week, two training sessions were conducted to prepare our team in the following areas: Trailer Set-up & Equipment Management, Personal Hygiene & Food Handling, Menu Planning & Preparation, and Community

Engagement. From day one of this deployment we saw immediate evidence of this training through the way the team participated in all aspects of their catering roles and responsibilities. Even the local phenomenon known as “Solo Time” gave way to the rare occurrence of punctuality, which I like to call “Salvo Time”.

learned how to cook large volumes of rice in a much more efficient manner that sped up the process of cooking 20 kg of rice for a single meal. It was impressive to watch a village method of accurately measuring just enough water to eliminate the need for draining and wasting water once the rice was cooked.

their management of time had a direct impact on the roles of others. With the change of RSIPF shifts and Police Response Units needing to be deployed to multiple locations throughout the day, our team realized that the importance of “time” is not just an Australian (or Robert Evans) obsession!

The equipment provided in the SAES trailer introduced our team to methods of food handling and preparation that are unfamiliar in a village context.

Of particular interest to not only our team, but the RSIPF personnel, was the sophisticated hand washing unit.

Everybody was impressed by this unit and didn’t mind being asked to ensure their hands were clean before handling food or receiving their meal. The stainless steal

Our menu choices captured the attention of not only those being fed, but those preparing the meals. Common meals in the Solomon Islands lack variety and have given way in the town centres to imported processed foods (such as instant noodles).

The inclusion of soup meat, pork chops, minced meat and chicken pieces to the menu, combined with garlic, soy sauce, curry powder, and fresh produce created an interactive “Learning Space” where culinary imaginations were ignited. Meals like homemade hamburgers, Tai beef curry, Bolognese mince, marinated pork chops, soy chicken wings, chicken fried rice and tossed garden salad were enthusiastically prepared by a team that was excited by what they were learning and eager to apply these recipes at home. The other valuable learning experience was about managing preparation time to feed large numbers of people on time. We started serving around 80-90 meals for lunch and dinner at the beginning of the week, with these numbers increasing to 240-260 meals by the end of the week. It was incredibly encouraging to see the “aha” moments about value of time and planning emerge as our team realized

When the service of our team was offered to the RSIPF during the weeks prior to the NGE, I had a strong sense that our involvement would mark a significant transition in the development of The Salvation Army Solomon Islands District. And it did! This was in many ways a “Word became flesh” (John 1:14) moment where The Salvation Army took Jesus out of the sanctuary into society through a meaningful act of service. Our

food preparation trolley and utensils we take for granted also provided new experiences for our team as they applied existing knowledge in a new context. The new experiences, however, did not just apply to our team members, we also

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“Salvation” mission was personified through a public demonstration of Christ’s love during a ..pivotal time in this nation’s history.to those who serve this nation. We could not be more proud of our SAES team!

Solomon Islands Ministries

Comments from the Team...

“During Emergency Service at Henderson, I was so blessed to be part of the team. Before the day I went to Henderson, I decide to join the team on the election day only. But something great was working in my life—’saying this is the cost of being my disciple, carry your cost and follow me.’ With no excuse I made, I participate with the team for the whole week. My God that I serve is always at work. He gives me joy to serve Him. He blessed so much. Thank God for great thing He has done.”

Webster Buakalo

“My experience in Emergency Services which I learn a lot for serving hundreds of people and I’m very blessed for doing it as a young youth.

Thanks be to God.”

Irene

Aebata “During the one week of SAES team I learn that hygiene is the most important thing to remember when doing food preparation and really believe in team work.”

Rachel Hagi

“It’s a good experience for myself, especially working together as a team, volunteering in serving food for the police force, following instructions from the team leader, and lastly the arrangement of our team ourselves.”

Daniel Hagi

“It was a first time experience for me to practically serve in The Salvation Army Emergency Service team during the 2019 National Election. During my 5 days of service I had challenging and exciting moments through out. There was the challenge to keep serving from the beginning to the finish in a volunteering basis. The love of God expressed in serving those who are serving the nation was the motivation that kept me going. People thought that The Salvation Army people must have been paid with some sums of money to do these catering for the Guadalcanal personnel. “Were you paid for cooking for us?” was the question asked by one of those we served. My answer to this policeman was, “we are serving as volunteers those who are serving our nation, so they can serve better.” He was shocked by this service we gave. The excitement is in meeting and interacting with the RSIPF people and making friends. Thank God I had this opportunity to serve the front liners of this nation on the election season. I am also thankful for the District Leaders, Majors Robert and Vanessa Evans, for equipping us in this useful manner representing Christ.”

Special Report

Joshua Henry

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