Before contacting Capital Football, Sergeant Karen Le Sueur had been on deployment in the Solomon Islands since late 2021 working as an advisor to the local Police. During her time on deployment, Karen has observed that the culture there is that there are two sports played extensively. One Is Volleyball, you can find a court and a net in most communities and people gather to play during the evenings. And the other is the national game, football.

“Because of the steep terrain around Honiara, it is difficult for some communities to have a flat area big enough to have a full-sized pitch. We have seen locals playing using sticks as goalposts, hardly ever see them wearing soccer boots, and sometimes the balls they are using are flat. Despite this, they are very talented players. Just before COVID, we went to a sports tournament in one of the poorest parts of Honiara. The pitch was partly grass, partly bare ground with rocks. Almost all the players played in bare feet (some using a sock on their kicking foot).” – Sergeant Karen Le Sueur

Sergeant Karen Le Sueur reached out to Capital Football in March 2022  in regards to setting up a donation point for any surplus football gear/equipment in Wellington for redistribution in the Solomon Islands. We reached out to our clubs asking for any donations of any old/unused equipment and the response we got was fantastic! 

The following article was written by Sergeant Karen Le Sueur

On the 27^th of May 2022 the football donations arrived in Honiara on an RNZAF C130 Hercules. After the donated items arrived, all 48 boxes were sorted into 27 Football kits (half for adult players and half for children).  Each kit contained playing shirts, socks and balls for the players and jackets for coaches and officials.  Other donated items such as playing shorts, shin guards, ball pumps, bibs and cones were distributed amongst the 27 boxes. 

Senior Advisor Karen Le Sueur and Malaita Sports Coordinator Eddie Omokirio sorting donated items; Picture taken by Senior Advisor Tony Le Sueur.

After making up the kits there was still a large number of surplus playing shirts and socks, but no balls.  NZ Volunteer Services Abroad stepped in and donated NZD800 worth of balls to allow an additional 27 kits to be made up This means adult and children playing kits can be donated to all nine Provinces in Solomon Islands.

Distribution of the kits to the Provinces is being done with the help of Royal Solomon Island Police Force, New Zealand Police SIPSP program and Volunteer Services Abroad. It is expected that all kits will be distributed to all nine Provinces by the end of the year.

Distribution of donated items in Malaita.

When I think about it now, I am still amazed at what has been achieved in the last six months since talking with my football (as in soccer) mad work colleague Jason Eady about how much surplus football gear there is in the Wellington Area and how it could be put to good use in the Pacific Islands. At that time I was working in the Solomon Islands as an Advisor, and Jason was back in Wellington. From that conversation, the word went out and resulted in 48 boxes of new and used football gear being donated by Wellington Football clubs, and Porirua business Football Central. The arrival of the donated football gear in Honiara on the 27^th of May 2022 signaled the start of the second phase of the project – sorting and distributing all the gear to remote rural communities in all nine provinces of the Solomon Islands. 

Since March 2022 I have been working with various partners to assist with the distribution including members of Volunteer Services Abroad, Eddie Omokirio Sports Coordinator in Malaita, officers from Royal Solomon Island Police Force and fellow NZP and NZDF staff living and working in Honiara.

On the 24^th of August 2022 I had the opportunity to travel to Malaita Province and take part in the distribution of donated items to two girls teams. Accompanying me was my husband Senior Sergeant Tony Le Sueur who also works in the Solomon Islands as a Police Advisor.

Upon our arrival in Auki we were met by Eddie, Chief Superintendent Leslie Kili (RSIPF Police Provincial Commander) and Sgt Robert Aligao (Malaita Community Officer). We travelled from Auki to the village of Buma which is located 29 kilometers east of Auki along bumpy potholed roads – a trip that would normally take 30 minutes in New Zealand, but took more than an hour here. Buma is located in the West Kwaio region. Kwaio means “Kill you” in the local language. Luckily for us, after Christianity arrived the tradition of killing anyone who disagreed with you was tempered with teachings about offering forgiveness by the early missionaries.

Upon arrival in Buma we met the coach of the team Cynthia Agofi. We thought we had arrived, however we still had to walk through a cocoa plantation to get to the playing field. It was a nice opportunity for us to stretch our legs after being cramped in the car.  As we approached the football pitch we heard squeals coming from the girls gathered.  Eddie commented “They are excited to see us”. 

A photo of the visiting party walking through the cocoa plantation to get to the Buma football field; Picture taken by Senior Advisor Karen Le Sueur.

The girls ranged in age from 12 years old to just six years old.  My first impression of them is that they looked like a “rag tag” bunch with most of them dressed in dirty looking clothes. We all lined up together for a “before” photo.

A photo of the Buma Girls team prior to distribution of the uniforms with the people named above also part of the photo; Picture taken by unknown.

Afterwards, the donated balls, shirts and bibs were handed out to the team. What a difference it made after each girl pulled on a brand new playing shirt or bib.  Each of them were proud to be wearing a proper soccer uniform.  As we did this it started to rain, but that didn’t stop the handing over ceremony and a demonstration of the player's skills on the field wearing their new “kit”.

Senior Advisor Karen Le Sueur and Eddie Omokirio pulling soccer uniforms from the box to distribute to the Buma Girls team; Picture taken by Senior Advisor Tony Le Sueur.

During the speeches, Cynthia explained “This is the first time girls are playing football here.  Here we have a culture that stops girls from involving in football because custom it does not allow girls to lift up legs”.  Luckily times and attitudes are changing here and this under 12 girls team is breaking down barriers.  Donations to players and communities just like the girls in Buma is exactly what Jason and I were hoping to achieve. 

A photo of the team after the football uniforms had been distributed. Senior Advisor’s Karen and Tony Le Sueur along with RSIPF Officers Chief Superintendent Leslie Kilo and Sgt Robert Aligao, Cynthia Agofi Team Coach and Malaita Sports Coordinator Eddie Omokirio; Picture taken by unknown.

I feel really privileged to be able to make a small difference to the lives of some Solomon Islanders living in remote rural areas by distributing a total of 54 football kits to communities in these areas.

I would like to acknowledge the assistance of the following people and organisations, who, without their help this project would not have been possible:

Article added: Tuesday 06 September 2022