Father & Son Weekend
SPECIAL REPORT September 2019 Feature Insert
Report written by Major Robert Evans Family relationships in the Solomon Islands are defined by a complex blend of cultural and religious beliefs that have paradoxically created an environment where gender inequality is eroding the structure of Melanesian village life and deeply held biblical values. Consequently, Solomon Islands now has one of the highest rates of family and sexual violence in the world! Over the past two years we have seen the evidence of these statistics through disturbing regular RSIPF reports throughout Honiara and the Provinces, as well as through direct conversation and interaction with local men and women.
context—”Rise Up! Men of Godly Character.” More than anything, Solomon Islands families need men who don’t just profess faith in God but whose character reflects the heart of God!
The Opening Session on Friday night set the tone for the weekend with an extraordinary time of worship led by the Honiara Corps Worship Team. The evening also featured the RSIPF Brass Band who performed a bracket of contemporary music that was a clear crowd pleaser. I had the privilege of playing flugelhorn alongside these very talented musicians and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity.
We have heard comments expressed by some of our men that suggest, “we are developing a spirit of retaliation in our homes” or “we don’t know how to interact with our sons.” Many of our women have disqualified themselves from any role outside of domestic duties because of the label “pencil break” that they wear (meaning they are uneducated) and lament the lack of interaction between their husbands and children. Our engagement with the RSIPF and NGO’s reveals how such comments are indicative of the vulnerability of families for destructive behaviours to manifest in their homes and village life. This is the cultural and social context that led us to introduce the successful ‘Father & Son’ event run by The Salvation Army in PNG to the Solomon Islands District. While there is a lot of work being done in the equality space with women, the need for such an event to change the thinking of men is very evident. I firmly believe that ‘belief drives behavior’ so the Territorial theme for this year’s ‘Father & Son Weekend’ seemed pertinent for our
Territorial Commander, Colonel Kelvin Alley, was our invited guest speaker who spoke powerfully into each of these topics by drawing on the lives of Joseph, Hezekiah, David and Bartemaeus.
The four messages that spoke into this theme over the weekend called on fathers and sons to be men of strong faith, men of pure heart, men of deep character and men of clear vision. Our
Saturday continued the teaching themes in morning and afternoon sessions, along with more opportunities for worship and response to the Word of God. The day also included a fun and interactive activity to encourage the fathers and sons to work together and participate in some friendly competition. We had the guys build ‘Billy Carts’. This familiar activity growing up in Australia was completely foreign to Solomon Islands. Nevertheless, once I displayed an image of a ‘Billy Cart’ on the screen and played the classic ‘push cart race’ scene from the movie ‘Cool Runnings’, it didn’t take long for the men and boys to get excited and energetically participate in this activity. I recruited the help of an Australian expat builder Martin Wynne, who provided the timber and his expertise. After a practice session at his workshop earlier in the week Martin captured the imagination of eight local builders who are a part of his work crew. Such was their enthusiasm to get involved, they brought along their own ’Billy Cart’ and joined in our activity.