Airahu
Rural Training Centre
Malaita
Province
The centre is managed by the Church of Melanesia, Diocese
of Malaita, who developed the centre (formerly an Anglican school, then
a catechists' training centre) in 1997. We aim to promote a sense of the
value of work, to motivate young people who have left the formal school
system. Our courses and outreach programmes equip students with practical
skills that help them earn a living throughout their lives. Our enterprises
include selling vegetables and honey at the market in Auki. We also manage
a store.
At Airahu, we are keen on sport - we have our own soccer and netball teams
- and are fortunate to have a sports ground. Our centre is constantly improving.
The centre's buildings are either timber or leaf.The facilities include
one building with four classrooms, a library room, kitchen, dining hall,
two girls' dormitories , one for boys, six staff houses. We also have a
church. There is a generator and a two-way radio. The sanitation system
relies on rainwater tanks. We have use of Church vehicles for transport.
We are a residential centre, with ten staff, and can accommodate 120 students,
male or female, of all denominations. We are a Full Member of SIARTC. We
get some financial support from the Diocese of Malaita, and the European
Union funds tools and equipment. Other donors help with books and other
teaching materials.