BY MYRNE LIVETT
ISLES MEDIA FREELANCE REPORTER IN GIZO
21-year-old SINU accounting student, Kulziik Leo, from Ranogga in the western province has to face it alone after his mother passed on. He said, his father left them years before his mother died, and returned to his home province in Isabel.
Leo, was emotional when he mentioned his parents. His father still has not returned to the western province to visit him, and his other two siblings – his younger brother and elder sister.
I met Leo at Gizo Market while looking for stories from grassroots people on how they’re facing and coping with the cost of living, especially in the COVID pandemic era.
“I withdraw last year from Solomon Islands National University (SINU) as a Business Accounting student, due to lack of finance to meet my tuition fee, and also from the COVID pandemic.
“I’m doing a bachelor’s degree course and the tuition is 14 thousand dollars per year. I returned home to plant root crops and vegetables for sale to help me meet my education.
“I have two gardens; one is for Potato and Cassava and another one is for vegetables.
“My father left us when I was in form Six at John’s Adventist College (JAC) in Vella la Vella, he’s living in Isabel now,” he said. “Not long after they got separated, my mom died, so I had to struggle by myself and meet my own tuition fees to complete my studies at SINU.”
Leo started selling his garden products last month at Gizo Municipal market. He explained that he’s doing this three times a week.
He often left his home village of Malokoro at 7 am or 8 am with five other rural farmers on a motorized wooden canoe, and travelled for three hours to Gizo town, before selling his garden produce at the market.
He said that he’s happy that despite the rise in fuel price per litre, freighting and passenger, fare remains as usual. A reason he pointed out is that the wooden canoe is powered by a 15 hose power (hp) engine.
“15hp outboard motor engine consumes less fuel, so the increase in fuel price does not really affect our transport. I still pay the normal fare of $250 dollars for both ways.
“I can earn $1200 dollars in a week when sales is good, he said. But on other days, I can earn around $700, when sales not really going well.”
The soft-spoken lad said he’s aiming at continuing with his studies at SINU in 2023.
Many people who came across Leo’s photo on Facebook which shows him at Gizo Market, encouraged him to continue with “the good work” he’s engaging in.
Leo’s example can be an encouragement for other youths in the Western Solomons, to keep dreams alive and work towards achieving goals for life.
