The completion of a health and life skills project funded under E-U Micro Project's Phase Two marks a "historic milestone" for the women of Riverside Village in Small Malaita.

Residents of the village last Wednesday gathered at the local church to celebrate and witness the hand over of the project.

Project Coordinator, Nevalyn Laesango, said the completion of the project is a first in the history of their community.

She added that women of the community had been seriously handicapped by lack of fundraising avenues for their health and economic concerns for many years.

She said that women have been concerned with illnesses attacking their children and old people because of poor sanitation practices.

Ms. Laesango said that the project is helping to build women of the Riverside community to be self-reliant in looking after their family and knowing how to make ends meet.

Women, who have been handicapped by a lack of opportunities and training to enter into small micro-projects to earn income for their families, have received a health education training and a personal viability training.

"Five weeks of the Personal Viability workshop has trained most in the village to understand how to use available resources to generate income."

Ms. Laesango said with the seven sewing machines and a sewing course for the village, women and young girls of Riverside community are now sewing clothes and selling them for income.

The workshop saw the graduation of 50 people from the village and most have already embarked on starting their little businesses.

E-U had also funded twenty toilet sanitation units which is of great help "especially to our disabled people in the village".