The solidarity partnership that has been developing between St Joseph's College Hunters Hill and St Joseph's College Mabiri, Bougainville entered a new phase during the 2010 Easter holidays.

Once again the Joeys visitors were overwhelmed by the traditional welcome they received from the Mabiri boys and their teachers - in fact everywhere you travel on Bougainville you are met by smiles and waves which stand in stark contrast to the angst that is often the norm on Sydney roads.

Since 2008 the Hunters Hill community has been working to provide educational resources for Mabiri as part of the overall support of MAPS in its contribution to the re-building of Bougainville. The College has also been privileged to host visitors from Mabiri who have assisted our understanding of the complex political and social events of the last thirty years and their ramifications for the young people of this beautiful yet struggling nation.

As a result of this relationship, the Joeys party was allowed the great privilege of going past the blockade that has been in place since the Bougainville Crisis into the Panguna region. It is here that the copper mine that was the catalyst for the conflict which saw thousands killed and all infrastructure on the island destroyed is located. We were told that the only other non-Indigenous groups who had been afforded this honour are representatives from organisations such as the United Nations.

It is impossible to describe the emotions of this day which involved visits to three village schools where we were overwhelmed by the traditional welcome ceremonies and by the immense difficulties that the teachers have in providing educational opportunity for their students. How do you teach children to read when you have no books?  In many instances we were the first white faces that children had encountered - both a source of fright and amusement for them. Project Sankamap which is the MAPS project working with these small village schools is the only source of support for teachers and it goes without saying that their basic resources are stretched to the limits in servicing the 100 plus isolated village communities.

Our trip to Bougainville in 2010 was one of rich learning and great personal challenge. We spent many hours listening to stories of those who were involved in the conflict. Having seen the environmental and social damage caused by the copper mine first hand we now have a greater appreciation of the many injustices that surrounded the project, particularly the removal of the people from their traditional lands - an all too familiar story in the history of our own nation.

The Joeys students came home in awe of the Mabiri boys' resilience and resourcefulness. You are hungry - go catch an eel and cook it in your bush camp. You are thirsty - its water from the tank or nothing. You need to get home for the holidays and there is no school truck to get you there - sit on the road for 24 hours and wait for a lift.

St Theresa's Prayer says: 'Christ has no body now but yours; no hands, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks with compassion on the world.' Our trip to Bougainville again reinforced the disparity that exists between the life we take for granted and the lives of those who, while only a few hours away by plane, have so very little and yet offer us such great depth of friendship. Through commitment to solidarity that is at the heart of our faith and the opportunities afforded to us by MAPS to offer practical support, we hope that not only the small group who experienced Bougainville's hospitality, but all of our Marist communities will continue to be living witness to Christ by offering their hands, feet and hearts to those who are most in need.