Tonga
Current Situation
Act for Peace in Tonga
Act for Peace is involved in a Disaster Risk Reduction project which has been rolled out in Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. 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 villages 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.
This project involves educating and developing vulnerable communities on these Pacific Islands so that they are better equipped to cope with natural disasters. Working with community volunteers, this project aims to encourage village communities to take control of their situation by planning how to respond to a disaster, building on their existing capacities and developing a positive plan for the future that will help save lives. Since each village is uniquely different with different challenges, the project will focus on one village at a time to address individual issues. Field Project Officers will spend up to 10 days in each village during the life of the project (four years).
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 patterns in the Pacific Islands.
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can skill each member of a ten-person village committee with Disaster Preparedness training.
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