How to Really Help

Islands Natives Practical Suggestions From Melanesian Mission

PRIOR to the Pacific war it was im possible to convince the Adminis trations of the various South-west Pacific Territories that something more was due to the natives than they were getting. At all events, neither the Administrations concerned, nor the British Colonial Office, took it upon them selves to evolve either adequate or far sighted native policies.

At present, of course, there is no lack of suggestions as to what would be a fitting reward for the loyalty these Melanesians have shown in the last 18 months—many of these suggestions obviously emanating from people who have never been in contact with Melanesia or Melanesians.

However, it is generally agreed that our sins were of omission rather than com mission—in just the same way as we neglected to remove slums and want from our own Australian cities. If this be so, there should be no question of reward for loyalty—and presumably the natives should be loyal for the same reason as

the resident of Sydney or Manchester, or any other British subject, is loyal. The question is one of rights, not rewards.

In the post - war wash - up, the Melanesian’s position as a citizen of the world will have to be considered, but we should not be permitted to salve our national conscience with a £lO,OOO “sing sing”—as has been suggested by some circles in Australia—and, for the rest, relegate the Melanesian to his former position in the limbo of lost things, simply because we have the material strength to do so if so minded.

IN “The Southern Cross Log”—the journal of the Melanesian Mission— of July 1, the idea of the £lO,OOO worth of dances for these natives is con demned as fatuous, and a plan of health and education is outlined for Solomon Islanders of the post-war period.

Present medical facilities are inade quate to meet the needs of the many Solomon Islands and their scattered villages.

Contrary to the popular belief that native women have children without any trouble, many do, in fact, die in child birth—due very frequently to entire lack of skilled help, and to the well-meaning but misguided assistance of dirty native helpers, who are useless when compli cations arise. The babies who are left motherless, in such a fashion, occasion ally survive, in spite of wrong feeding, but the majority die. The infantile death rate—even after a normal birth —is ex ceedingly high (about one in four children die within the first vear of life), and this is almost always directly attributable to wrong feeding and no knowledge of hygiene.

All these people, too. are open to in fection from such diseases as yaws, dysentry and malaria—and nothing is done in the way of prevention or teach ing the people the cause and effect of such complaints. It is obvious that a hospital on another island, or at best many miles away, is of little use to these neonle—especially to the women and children, who rarely move very far from their native villages.

On the island of Malaita there is a nonulation of at least 40,000 natives — and just one hosnital. In the whole of the Solomons there is anproximately 100.000 of a native population—and. as can be imagined, the need for medical work there is desperate.

THE native diet of these Islanders is of very limited variety and of Ques tionable value, and primitive methods of agriculture have not always made the best use of the land. Immediately be fore the Pacific war, some of the most intelligent natives were sent to the Government experimental farm in New Britain, and it was hoped that the know ledge they gained there would in time improve native agriculture. Land for permanent gardens was being cultivated, and a greater variety of foods being in troduced. It is confidently expected that better food will improve the health of whole communities.

The building of good, nermanent. native houses should be encouraged, and simple drainage, good roads and tracks, and cleared swamps would do much to eliminate the evils of malaria and dysentry.

Before the Pacific war, too, an increas ing number of lads were being sent to the Native Medical School in Suva, Fiji, and the training is rightly regarded as one of the finest pieces of British Colonial Administration so far seen in the South-west Pacific. But in order to provide boys for this work at the medical school, attention must be paid to their preliminary education—and the facilities

of such education in the Solomons are, to-day, lamentably inadequate. The same high standard of education should be made available to the girls, who have a natural and surprising ability for nursing, and who are proud of the result of mid wifery and mothercraft training.

In conclusion, the “Log” maintains that wonderful benefits are to be had from the establishment of hospitals, each with a chain of dispensaries on each of the larger islands, and maternity and mothercraft centres in sufficient numbers to take care of the wants of all villages.

All of these hospitals, dispensaries and centres should be staffed by NMP’s and native nurses.

Maternity and mothercraft training centres, the selection of the best lads for the Native Medical School —all these call for substantial monetary assistance and the best European teachers. It remains for us to provide for the future of these people with something of lasting benefit.