[HCDX] Radio Galkayo

[Paul Ormandy <paulorm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Hi all,.


Sam Voron has also given a couple of web-sites...

www.radiogalkayo.com which is very interesting and well designed, and 
www.h44a.com  (which doesn't work at the moment) to cut & paste from Sam...

>I am back in Australia with good news. On the 25 Oct. 2002,the Prime 
Minister of the Solomon Islands attended the graduation ceremony for 21 
students and presented them with the certificate of successful completion 
of the amateur radio training course. The Australian High Commission deputy 
head presented each student with a donated CB or Amateur radio on behalf of 
the HAM and CB donors from the outside world. The Minister of Home Affairs 
gave each student an antenna. The Community Peace and Restoration Fund 
Ausaid gave each student a power supply.
Solomon Islanders now run the school and the National Disaster Council will 
download onto www.h44a.com photos of that ceremony, the list of students 
and their home locations and a copy of the Prime Minister?s speech together 
with the call signs of the 21. Sadly one of our 21 students died of asthma 
before that ceremony. The Prime Minister presented the certificate to his 
parents who asked that their other son take his place as a student at the 
school.
Collection of unwanted CB and HAM transceivers is underway so that the 
second graduation class can also graduate with complete stations.If you can 
help with a transceiver you can mail it to:
The Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation of the 
Solomon Islands Government, Mr Loti Yates, Amateur Radio Training School, 
National Disaster Council, P.O. Box G11, Honiara, Solomon Islands. 
Telephone Loti between 2130 to 0230 UTC Monday to Friday on Tel- 001- 677- 
27937 or 27936. Email- Lotiyates@xxxxxxxxx
I want to thank everyone who has helped get the Solomon Islanders onto ham 
and CB radio. A great result and a big thank you. They can only come on air 
if they have donated radios so keep that help coming for their second 
graduating class.
Answering a question, the school has no computer and no telephone. We thank 
the National Disaster Council for the use of their building. The economic 
situation is such that even the government NDC telephones have over a year 
been prevented by telecom from dialing outside the Capital although anyone 
can ring in worldwide. Internet is available to those with money to pay the 
internet cafe owner.
Many students don't have $2 bus fare to travel to the school; they walk a 
very long distance.The school is operated by the students themselves.No one 
is paid.This is the only school in the country which is operated by unpaid 
volunteers. Parents of these students don't have money to pay fees . The 
Amateur Radio Training School of the Solomon Islands is the only free of 
charge school in the country, open to any person off the street.
The purpose of the activities is to open amateur radio as a zero cost 
activity to give youth direction and benefit the nation.
The school is not set up for the purpose of using QSL as a way to get money.
People at the bottom of the power structure of this country have been 
honoured by the man at the top. Why? because with nothing but the interest 
to turn up each day the very first nativeborn to get a ham licence is not 
the intellectual person with degrees or the well off business person but 
someone who never had a chance to take up something before. That is 
something the Solomon Islanders have now embraced without the floods of 
money people keep telling us we have missed because we do not QSL. In the 
ham course we learn that when you have money everyone wants to know you , 
when you don't its a different story. In ham radio we are not a business 
radio: we build respect so that one day, when you need help you are 
measured not by how much money you have but by how much of a ham, helping 
all mankind person you are.
Amateur Radio is not a be all and end all in QSL cards as some comments 
imply. If all you can do is tell people who have discovered a new love 
called ham radio and who don't have $2 to catch a bus to their ham radio 
school each day that they operate a scam, if you can make fun of them , if 
you say they should not be on air without QSL cards just think , did the 
Prime Minister of your country say "well done" to you when you became a ham?
Every student received a CB or ham station on graduation: because of you, 
the donors, if that can be maintained for each graduating class these 
students who have no other way of joining the world wide airwaves could 
wish for no more.
Anyone who would like to go to Solomon Islands and show the students the 
trill of a DXpedition and QSLing would be very welcome.
$100 AMATEUR RADIO LICENSE FEE DROPPED TO $12 FOR STUDENTS AT THE AMATEUR 
RADIO TRAINING SCHOOL.
None of the first 9 to qualify for the amateur radio licence had the $100 
license fee and after 6 months, all 21 licences were sitting uncollected at 
Spectrum Management Division.
A meeting with the SMD director and the schools director Margaret H44MKA 
and her deputy director Rusa H44RTK has brought the amateur radio license 
fee down.
SMA said $20. ?But it was $12 last year ? said Margaret. ?OK you win? said 
the SMD
Congratulations to the countries first native born ham radio operators-
NAME AGE CALL SIGN VILLAGE, ISLAND Volunteer position at the school
Alfred Selo 20 H44SAT Ferasubua,Malaita. All night security
Ms Margaret Koi 27 H44MKA Atori,Malaita. School director
Augustine Bisafo 23 H44AB Dairana,Malaita. Fix what needs fixing
Willie Sande 26 H44WSB Mbabasa,Guadalcanal.Instructor
Duddley Misiosi 21 H44HMD Aesiko,Malaita. Instructor
Adrian Legua 19 H44ZL Thathaje,Isabel Instructor
Ms Nesta Olita 18 H44NO Rurusie,Malaita Instructor
Rockson Latu 17 H44EE Pututu,Choiseul Instructor
Nicholas Sie 20 H44NS Gove,Isabel Instructor
Ronald Foakali 20 H44RF Rurusie,Malaita Instructor
Rowland V. Kito 27 H44RVK Patutiva,Western fix what needs fixing
Ms Doris Tim 26 H44DT Taraharau, Makira Instructor
Foster Bobo 23 H44SF Faufanea,Malaita Instructor
Andrew Leeson 24 H44ALK Veramogho,Guadalcanal Instructor
Lionel Arudola 17 H44LA Forodo,Malaita Instructor
Hudson Auga 25 H44HA Nukumaro,Malaitadied before license issued.
Ms Rusa T. Kenioriana 28 H44RTK Masupa,Malaita School deputy director
Ms Viola Pitisopa 18 H44VP Pangoe,Choiseul Instructor
Arthold Gwali 21 H44AG Dukwasi,Malaita Instructor
Moffet T. Dakatia 18 H44MD Tataba,Isabel Instructor
Dicaprio.Wanna.L.Pauku 23 H44D Babarehgo,Choiseul.Fix what needs fixing
19 of these 21 licenses remain on the table at the SMD office because 19 
students don?t have $12 that?s $US 2.
Its hoped that as in the USA and New Zealand it may be possible to 
introduce a no license fee service to match what a free course and donated 
equipment have accomplished. In the mean time the successful students are 
saving where they can so that new students can use these call signs under 
their supervision at the ham radio training school. There are no radio hams 
in the country to help all the new people who want to join the school so 
these new hams are doing everything they can to help new people just as 
they were helped.
Most radios donated from overseas are CB radios and the school operates 
throughout the day and night on CB channel 29 ­ 27.295MHz LSB. For training 
purposes amateur radio procedures are always used so that students can 
train on CB before going on to the international ham bands using the 
amateur radio donated to the school. Local contacts between the new hams 
using the donated CB radios is on CB channel 13- 27.115MHz AM. All this 
activity from the Solomon Islands on both AM and LSB can be heard daily by 
CB and amateur operators around Australia who have commented on the 
excellent behaviour of these students over the last year.
After completing 10 contacts on CB under supervision new students are ready 
to start their 10 required amateur radio contacts on 28.490Mhz USB plus or 
minus 10KHz.
GIRL RADIO HAMS IN SOLOMON ISLANDS:
The 2 top ham ( Helping All Mankind) students are both girl students who 
have become the director and deputy directors of the school. These are both 
volunteer unpaid positions.
So many boys want to join everyday that they are now only taking girls to 
give them space at the ham school. Next year boys can join again.
I did suggest that any boy who could bring 10 girls be allowed so that new 
males are not totally excluded.
We had 5 girls out of the first graduating class of 21 and we hope we can 
improve the male female balance by aiming for more girls than boys.
Rusa our deputy brings her 4 year old girl who plays morse code sounds with 
another 4 year old at the ham school.
There is a 14 year old boy who walks to the free ham radio school every day 
from the other end of the Capital city, Honiara
because he can't pay fees to go to government or private schools and he is 
not the only one.
The ham school has no age limit or qualification requirement but right now 
if you are a girl in Solomon Islands you get instant access to the ham 
radio training school.
School radio clubs might like to check 28.490MHz USB where the Solomon 
Islands ham school have many radio contacts.
Foreign Amateur radio operators visiting the Solomon Islands must still pay 
the $100 license fee which is equal to $US 16 and are welcome to stay at 
the school and help the students.
73...Sam



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Paul Ormandy
Host of The South Pacific DX
Report
http://radiodx.com

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