BY JOY OFASIA
ON April, Lydia Yeo, a candidate for the Honiara City Council (HCC) Panatina Ward 12 seat in Central Honiara Constituency, will be contesting the election in the 2024 joint election under the OUR Party.
Lydia Yeo, 64, is well-known in the Solomon Islands for her 33 years of community service, particularly in the area of education in Honiara. She has also received recognition from the governments of South Korea and the Solomon Islands, having been awarded a medal for community work outside of Korea and a medal for community work service from the Solomon Islands government.
Yeo, a South Korean native, immigrated to the Solomon Islands in 1991 and has been a citizen ever since. She has three children.
In an interview with SOLOMON WOMEN, Yeo said she has seen the need for a second chance in education through vocational and technical studies in the country, especially in her ward.
“As a community service worker, especially in the field of education, it is sad to see that the Solomon Islands need more training through vocational and technical studies,” Yeo said. “There are so many youths who have left school, were not able to carry on with further studies, and are struggling for job opportunities that are left unrecognized in the communities today.”
The HCC election will take place on April 17.
Yeo is contesting alongside thirteen (13) other candidates in Panatina Ward 12 of the HCC seat in the Central Honiara Constituency, with a vision grounded in providing a second chance to drop-out students and other residents in Panatina Ward.
Lydia said her vision is to support unplaced students in Panatina Ward to be positive and seek opportunities for further education and personal growth.
“One of my priority visionary plans is to address the need to provide a second chance education or training space so that Panatina Ward residents may have another chance to train practically, which will help them sustain themselves in the future.
“I believe that having a second chance at education for youths and unemployed people in the communities will be useful in the end,” she said.
Lydia’s leadership style is to build leaders that can be leaders. The management and administration styles in her schools push the teachers to bring out their full potential, which results in the high academic performance of students.
Currently, Lydia is the founder and director of the following organizations: Tina, Central Guadalcanal Perch Extension School; Burns Creek Perch Extension School; PERCH Christian Community High School; and Small Stone Group (SSG), a widow program founded in 2018 for various activities and moral support. 200 members’ right now, and still rising.
Leading community services and offering assistance are not new to Lydia. This is what she has always done. Her personal support and that of the organizations she asked for were the main sources of the support she provided to the communities.
She does, however, have other plans that require the council’s and the government’s approval in order to be carried out.
“We are the community, and so we need each other to build our community together. It is our choice in these elections to elect someone with strong leadership and experience to redirect people for empowerment and prosperity. Make your vote count, vote wisely, and for a better future,” she said.
