Odyssey students help donate books, supplies to Solomon Islands

By Staff report • October 29, 2025 1:30 am
Holland America Line courtesy photo An Odyssey Middle School student helps load a box of supplies on the ship Noordam, which will be en route to underserved schools in the Solomon Islands.
Holland America Line courtesy photo An Odyssey Middle School student helps load a box of supplies on the ship Noordam, which will be en route to underserved schools in the Solomon Islands.

Odyssey Middle School has been working with Melanesian Women Today, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering women and girls across the Melanesian region through education, health, and leadership initiatives, since 2019.

Through the Melanesian Women Today’s student-led service-learning project, students at Odyssey are helping to drive meaningful change.

“I am always impressed by these students and how eager they are to help, and especially how they understand and appreciate that getting an education is not as accessible in other places as it is here,” said Colleen Huck, Melanesian Women Today’s organizing committee lead for Bainbridge Island. “They feel connected to the students across the world and proud of their successful efforts to make a difference.”

After researching the costs of delivering their collected resources to the Solomon Islands, the students and organizers reached out to Holland America Line to seek support for the transportation. With Holland America’s ship, Noordam, slated to travel south from Seattle to Sydney, Australia, with a stop in Honuara, the opportunity was there. Having Noordam facilitate the transport is saving thousands of dollars in shipping costs, a news release says. HAL previously partnered with students from Odyssey to deliver books to Papua New Guinea in 2022 on its Westerdam ship.

On Oct. 12, students and their chaperones visited Noordam and assisted the ship’s crew in loading the boxes onto the ship. Following a successful handoff, the students received a tour of the ship and met with officers on deck.

Safely secured in the hotel general manager’s office, the books will sail until Jan. 16, 2026, when Noordam calls on Honiara, Guadalcanal, as part of Holland America’s 28-day Islands of the South Pacific itinerary.

“They are not just sending books and lab equipment; they are building a bridge of understanding and solidarity,” said Mere Tari Sovick, founder and executive director of Melanesian Women Today. “My greatest hope for this collaboration is that it accomplishes two things: it provides crucial educational tools for students in Malaita, and it teaches our Odyssey students that their compassion and effort can create tangible, lasting ripples of positive change.”

In Honiara, the boxes will be transferred to local volunteers, where they will continue their journey to the Laulana Community High School in Langalanga Lagoon, Malaita Province, Solomon Islands.