‘Solomon Islands Floods – Six Months On: World Vision Continues Community Recovery’
Children attending Child Friendly Space at Suagi comunity, east Guadalcanal.
Six months after flash flooding in Honiara and Guadalcanal Plains left 22 people dead and some 9,000 people homeless and with foods and livelihoods destroyed, World Vision continues to assist people in the most affected communities.
World Vision has helped more than 26,000 people, in the immediate aftermath of the disaster and through on-going projects, in Honiara and Guadalcanal Plains on the eastern part of the capital.
World Vision has helped families get their lives back to normal, via relief and longer-term recover projects. The recovery projects focus on children’s development and protection, empowering women through life skills development, provide access to clean water, proper sanitation and improved hygiene practices, and provide livelihood kits and support to assist families rebuild their food gardens and other forms of income-generating activities.
In its initial 60-days Emergency Response Plan, World Vision provided effective co-ordination and support to the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), the Honiara City Council and Guadalcanal Province Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (G-PEOC). Over 2 months, World Vision distributed relief items to more than 26,000 people affected by the April 3 flooding and landslides, in Honiara City (6,000 people) and Guadalcanal Province (20,000). Water, shelter kits, kitchen kits, hygiene and sanitation supplies, baby kits and clothes were distributed.
“The NDMO is grateful to World Vision for their quick response to the disaster, their hard work during the initial response with the distribution of essential items and their on-going support for communities affected by the flash flood,” said Loti Yates, Director NDMO.
“You (World Vision) have done exceptionally well and NDMO is satisfied with your work. We also appreciate the good relationship between the two organisations and would like that to be maintained and continued. ”
Some 52,000 people were affected by the flood and thousands of homes and livelihoods were destroyed and lives lost following the disaster on 3 April.
World Vision’s response was supported by the generosity of many donors including Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) European Union, UNICEF, UNDP and New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) to support its relief efforts
“Recovery work on Child Friendly Spaces and Women Friendly Spaces will finish up by the end of October 2014, with the completion of water supply and sanitation project and livelihoods project at the end of December 2014. However, long-term development projects will continue in Honiara and the Weathercoast, with World Vision’s commitment to the people of Honiara and Guadalcanal,” said Lawrence Hillary, Operations Co-ordinator, World Vision Solomon Islands.
For more information or to interview, Lawrence Hillary please contact:
Senior Advocacy & Communications Officer, Christina Kwam-Muge: (+677) 74 45104