BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
CONSTRUCTING a 2 bedroom double story permanent house at the Kobito II Community in the outskirts of East Honiara is a dream come true for a local seasonal worker, 25-year-old Kali.
Kali recalled that when his father passed away due to a serious illness in 2009, he left him and his mother with nothing but an old rundown leaf hut situated at their current place of residence.
“As a child, before I would go to bed at night, I would lie on my bed watching the clear night sky and stars through the big torn roof of our leaf hut.
“Sometimes when it rains, we would find a safe space to sleep inside the hut, just to avoid the raindrops from the leaking roof,” Kali told SUNDAY ISLES.
Kali is the only child in his family. Both of his parents are from Malaita province. His father is a plumber and his mother is a housewife.
As a young child when his father died. Kali managed to make his way up the country’s education system – from Kindergarten to form seven (foundation). However, he failed to continue his educational journey due to financial challenges and hardship.
Kali continued to reside with his mother, however, in 2018 he was given another education opportunity to complete form seven (foundation program) at the University of South Pacific (USP) Honiara Campus. It was made possible with financial assistance from the Kobito Community Church Pastor.
For years, Kali applied for university scholarships and other part-time job opportunities in Honiara, but it did not work out as planned. It was later in 2020, he opted to apply for a seasonal employment opportunity in Australia and his application was finally accepted.
Kali admitted that the seasonal employment opportunity in Australia triggered his ambition to fulfil his dream home.
“When I look back at my family (especially my mother and our poor background), I told myself that I will do everything to support my mother and dream to have a better home, now that I have been allowed to work and save money in Australia,” Kali said.
After undergoing three seasons of seasonal work in agricultural farms in Australia from 2020 to 2022, Kali managed to send money to his mother, and with the support of his cousin brothers, and uncles, they managed to demolish the old rundown leaf hut and erected a 2 bedroom double story permanent house.
He said at the apple farm in Australia, he could earn AUD 300 per week, and on a good day, he makes AUD 400.
“I started my work in Australia by the end of December 2020. I did fruit picking and pruning at an apple farm.
“At the end of 2021, I flew to a prawn factory in North Queensland, Australia and I spent another five months grading and packing fresh prawns.
“I also work at another farm where I work with crops like beans, corn, capsicums, tomatoes, pumpkins, and melons.
“My work specializes more in farm irrigation and I normally run water pipes to crop nurseries sites, which normally takes 4 months.
“I normally work for 10 hours per day, having three or two breaks a day depending on the workload and type of work.
“There are certain strict rules that I need to follow at work. Time is one of the important things. I have to wake up at 4 am. I must prepare my breakfast and lunch before pick-up time. We usually start at 5:30 am,” Kali told SUNDAY ISLES.
Kali recalled that when he returned home last year (2022), he couldn’t believe with his own eyes his dream home that he had sacrificed his effort, time, sweat, and money when he was in Australia.
“When I was a child, I always felt shy since we are the only family in our community to live and dwell in a small and old rundown leaf house, whilst many families around us were living in a permanent House.
“When I arrive and see my house, I was in tears, but at the same time happy with joy to see my dreams turn into reality,’’ he said.
The exact amount of money consumed to construct the permanent house was more than SBD 300,000.00, according to Kali.
Kali will leave the country in April of this year (2023) for his fourth working season in Australia.
