A Day of Exhaustion and Quiet Purpose

By Ivory waki / Solvoice
Today was one of those days that leaves you physically drained, yet deeply fulfilled in a way that words can barely capture. We had a retreat with ACOM PHQ at TNK—a place of quiet beauty, owned by the sisters of the Anglican Church of Melanesia. The setting itself felt like a gentle invitation to pause, reflect, and realign. Even though the retreat came on short notice, it carried a clear purpose: to review ACOM’s workplace conduct. What could have been just another formal discussion turned into something more meaningful. There was a sense of sincerity in the conversations, and by the end of it, the outcome felt both successful and necessary. Looking back, the past few weeks have been full. We hosted visitors from New Zealand—members of ACOM’s management board—which added another layer of responsibility and expectation. I had submitted a report from my division and quietly assumed that would be enough, that perhaps my role in that space was minimal. But today reminded me that sometimes...
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Losing Our Mother Tongue: A Wake-Up Call

By Ivory waki / Solvoice


 Today I had a casual conversation with one of my work colleagues, who is also a fellow Kwara'ae speaker. What started as a simple chat turned into a sad realization: many of us in this generation can no longer count properly in our own mother tongue.

We can easily count in English — 1, 2, 3, 4, up to 10 and beyond. But when it comes to our own language, most of us only manage to count up to 10, and even then we struggle. Beyond ten, we are lost.

This really opened my eyes. We went through school learning everything in English, including basic counting, and we ignored or were never taught how to count in our own language. We grew up fluent in English numbers, yet disconnected from something so basic and meaningful in our cultural identity.

It is sad, and it is worrying. Because if we, the current generation, already struggle with something as simple as counting in Kwara'ae, what will happen to our children? What will they inherit? A language they can barely speak? A culture they cannot fully claim?

And this is not just a Kwara'ae issue. It is a common reality across many languages in Solomon Islands. So many of our children grow up speaking English or Pijin more confidently than their mother tongue. Slowly, quietly, our languages are fading.

I truly hope that our responsible authorities, educators, and community leaders will seriously re-look at preserving our languages. These are not just words — they are our identity, our history, our connection to our land and ancestors.

If we lose our languages, we lose a part of who we are.

If you like reading this, also Dreamy 2:30 PM

read https://solvoice.blogspot.com/2025/12/a-dreamy-230-pm-between-procurement.html?m=1

💬Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below👇


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