Seven Rotary Club of Bathurst members are set to embark on a 16-day mission to help a small village in the Solomon Islands install improved sanitation facilities.
The Seghe Area Sanitation Project has served as a key Rotary Club of Bathurst initiative for the last four years, and has seen the organisation work alongside the Seghe community to install new facilities.
This year's visit will see the organisation focus on the installation of two toilet blocks for Seghe Primary School, where 120 students attend.
"There's around 300 people in Seghe, and the village regularly caters for visitors from outlying localities who attend the markets," Rotary Club of Bathurst's Susannah Folley said.
"Residents in far-flung areas of the Solomons are often left at a disadvantage due to the poor structure of their government, and we want to ensure their basic human needs are being met."
Ms Folley will fly out to the Solomons on October 1 alongside fellow Rotarians Beryl Dyck, Phil Hampton, Rob Barlow, Annie Heffernan, Fiona McCallum and Brendan Hampton.
Mr Hampton said the Rotary Club of Bathurst is hoping to expand the project to other areas of the Solomons over the next few years.
"We've made some great friends in the Solomons over the years, and we want to help out their communities in any way we can," he said.
"A host of local businesses, such as Reece Bathrooms and Tablelands Builders, have assisted us through the provision of building and plumbing materials, and we've also applied for federal government funding."
Mr Barlow is set to visit the Solomons for the first time this year, and aims to extend the club's firm community focus overseas.
"Water and hygiene are worldwide needs that are insatiable but by starting with a little village in the Solomons, it allows us to gradually build rapport with various other communities in the country," he said.
Ms Folley said the visit will see Rotary members work closely with the Seghe community to assess other facilities in need of improvement.
"We're hoping to nut out what the community's key priorities are and where they feel services are lacking so we can devise future projects," she said.
For more information on the Seghe Area Sanitation Project, visit segheproject.weebly.com