About 41 villagers from the village of Vuci, Tokatoka in Tailevu attended 3 evenings of awareness and preparation training on a concerted village response during climate-induced events. The flood-prone village, one of many located along the silt-rich deltas of the Rewa river is experiencing increased instances of flooding due to inundation from high moon tides, consecutive days of heavy rain as well as flooding due to high rainfalls during cyclones. This is one of the realities of climate change that the village now faces daily.
The training from the 16th to the 19th of April this year 2024, was conducted by the Adventist Relief Agency (ADRA) Fiji. Attended by the village elders, men, women, youths, school children as well as the Tokatoka district representative to the Tailevu Provincial Council, the training has been applauded as informative and timely by the community whose evacuation centre is currently under construction. ADRA trainer and event facilitator, Mr. Eseroma Ledua said the training on Evacuation Centre Management, included preparations for emergencies as well as the general maintenance of an evacuation site. He added that an emergency response plan was developed by the participants and a committee has been formed to coordinate the village response during an emergency. These were the two main outputs of the 3-evenings training session. The training program content was as follows: –
VUCI EVACUATION CENTRE MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP
DAY 1 – 16/4/2024
1. Registration
2. Welcome and Introductions
3. Expectations of the workshop
4. Introduction on the EC Management and Operations including Biblical Context
5. Communication and Reporting Procedures- DISMAC Emergency Structure
6. Community Mapping
7. Inclusivity (PWD (access/ provisions in the EC and the community), LGBTQI, Elderly, Lactating mothers, Children etc.), Protection (Gender) and Safety in EC’s
DAY 2 – 17/4/2024
1. Rapid Needs Assessment and Initial Damage Assessment- (community/ settlement process and conducts it)
2. Identify triggers of when and why an evacuation centre needs to be activated. – Fiji Govt EC Management SOP, Page 7
3. Occupancy Space per Person in an EC and Minority Groups (partitions/ (privacy screens/ curtains etc)
4. How to manage and maintain an evacuation centre (EC Checklist/ Guidelines- Fiji Govt)
DAY 3 – 18/4/2024
1. Evacuation Centre Checklist- Fiji Govt EC Management SOP, Annex A – F
2. Disaster Committee and community Roles in an evacuation
3. Tabletop simulation- (Roundtable Discussion)- Hurricane/ Flood Simulation including Evacuation Route
4. Debrief
5. Closing of workshop
The selected emergency committee members include representatives from all sections of the village. They are Pita Dure Ladiniwasa (men’s representative), Kelera Secake (women’s representative), Joeli Raduva (youth representative), Torika Rokoduru (village nurse), Sera Ravuoco (student’s representative), Timoci Tilolo (village headman) and the church padre, Talatala Tonia Vosatale.
