BY SHOREYANN RAGOSO
For 27-year-old Angella Bethany Tuutupu from Rennell and Bellona Province, speaking up for women and young people in her community is not just a responsibility—it is a calling.
Angella is one of the female participants attending the 7th National Women’s Forum, where she represents the Renbel Provincial Youth Council (RPYC). Coming from a small village in Renbel, she carries with her the voices and concerns of many women and youths who often go unheard.
Growing up with her mother, Angella saw firsthand the strength and dedication of women in her community. Her mother worked closely with many women in the village, supporting them through different challenges. Watching this while growing up inspired Angella to follow the same path.
“My mother worked with many women in our community,” Angella said. “Seeing that while I was growing up inspired me. I developed a love for working with women in my village.”
However, life in rural communities comes with many challenges. According to Angella, many issues affecting women and youths in her village are rarely spoken about. Limited access to information makes the situation even harder.
“There are many issues affecting women and young people in our village that are never spoken out,” she said. “Sometimes people are shy, or they do not have the right information to talk about these issues.”
One of the biggest challenges, she explained, is the lack of information about important topics such as women’s health and social issues.
“We are grassroots people back in the village. We lack information—that’s the challenge we face, especially information about women’s health and issues,” Angella said.
Motivated by these challenges, Angella decided to attend the National Women’s Forum. She believes the forum gives her an opportunity to learn new knowledge and bring back ideas that can help improve the lives of women and youths in her community.
During the forum, Angella learned about different ways to address issues affecting women, girls, and young people. She now plans to take these ideas back to her province and share them with others.
“I will put more recommendations, especially to the Provincial Assembly, to support youths, women, and children with special needs so their needs can be seen,” she explained.
For Angella, representing her province at the forum is both an honor and a responsibility. She believes that learning from other women leaders and advocates has strengthened her determination to continue speaking up.
“As a representative for my province, I feel and have a heart to go back and do more advocacy on issues affecting women,” she said.
Angella believes that programs like the National Women’s Forum are important because they help women gain knowledge and confidence. Participants are able to share experiences, learn from each other, and develop new ideas to support women, youths, and children.
“I gain more knowledge to bring back home, so that I can share it with communities in my province,” she said.
She also said the forum reminded her of the importance of ensuring that women’s voices are heard.
“This forum helped me to look back to our women who are working hard, because we women—our voices are often not heard,” Angella said. “From here I will go back and strengthen programs to help women speak out about their issues at home.”
Before leaving the forum, Angella shared a message of encouragement to women across Solomon Islands who could not attend.
“My message for other women who are unable to attend this program is to keep encouraging each other,” she said. “Build spaces where women and youths can meet together. In provinces, leaders should create safe spaces where we can work together and talk about our issues.”
Angella also expressed her appreciation to the organizers and facilitators who made the forum possible.
“I want to thank the conveners who organized this program. They saw the issues of women and created space for us to come together,” she said. “I especially thank WRAM for organizing this program and giving us the opportunity to learn and share.”
