Fiji
Act for Peace in Fiji
Act for Peace’s project partner the Ecumenical Centre for Research Education & Advocacy (ECREA) is working to empower the people of Fiji and give them a stronger voice in their communities. By allowing communities to take a more active role in education, settlement, and other issues, Fijians are able to work toward a higher quality of life that is not likely to be provided by their government.
One of the goals of this program is to develop plans for extreme weather events in order to minimise destruction and loss of life, while simultaneously teaching Fijians how to plan for and find solutions to the issues that they face. When people can learn the process of community problem solving, they can better adjust to risky situations and increase the stability of their situation. By increasing leadership in all sectors of society, including women and youth, communities will be able to deal with structural, economic and social barriers to development and help one another toward success.
Storm surges and sea water inundation have been a constant hazard for the villagers of Namuka, about 65 km by sea from Suva. Over the last 10 years, sea water inundation into the village has become an everyday event with the onset of high tide. This flooding is made worse during times of King Tides. The Pacific Community-focused Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction (PCIDRR) Project in Fiji became involved with Namuka from December 2008, when the village was chosen for a pilot Community Training Program. This project involved the villagers nominating people onto a committee who then were trained by Field Project Officers over a period of four days. The committee learned the skills of Hazard Mapping and completed Vulnerability and Capacity Assessments.
The committee was assisted in developing a Community Disaster Preparedness & Response Plan and Action Plan. Field Officers again visited Namuka Village in February 2009 and were pleased to see the implementation of community initiatives designed to reduce the effects of inundation during high tides. The villagers deepened the drains. Extracted mud was used to bolster the sides of drains and the shoreline to increase the height of the banks. Incidents of inundation have since been significantly reduced.
The Turaga-Ni-Koro (Village Leader), Mr Solomoni, said the project “has greatly assisted the village to see our own capacities to deal with the issues facing our village. The government help is a bonus, but we can do things in the meantime.” Etuate Bakewa, Committee Chairman, commented that ”the villagers now take it as their responsibility to try first before relying on government. The training really opened our eyes to the various hazards that exist in our village, many we did not know ourselves. We realise that we must first fix these hazards before we try and go out to ask for help. The priority projects are the sea wall, the clearing of drains and identifying other hazards.” The PCIDRR team visited the Namuka village again in June 2009
to finalise their Disaster Plan and DRR Action Plan.
6,240 individuals will be given this training and 468 villages will benefit from this project. 3,000 school children provided will also be provided with education materials and given training so they can become future advocates for reducing disasters due to intensifying climate patters in the Pacific Islands.
|
can allow a Fijian youth to attend a peace-building workshop
|
 |
can skill each member of a ten-person village committee with disaster preparedness training
|
 |
can allow a young person to undertake a two month peace building, conflict transformation and inter-cultural communication course that will enable them to take a leadership role in their own community. |
