Breaking the silence: The journey of Solomon Islands’ disability trailblazers

Photo source: ABC News: Rachel Clayton.

According to the Solomon Islands National Statistical Office, 16 per cent of men and 17 per cent of women live with disability.

But only 2 per cent of children with disabilities attend primary school compared to 66 per cent of children overall.

If it was not for a chance medical trip to the capital, Honiara, when 16-year-old Jabez was asked if he wanted to go to a school for students with disability, he might not have had an education at all.

“For me, it was a miracle,” he says.

While there has been progress since then, many children with disability who do go to school still face significant barriers — dilapidated roads, expensive transport, out-of-date resources, and long-held prejudice that leaves them feeling judged, locked away or forgotten.