CAN DO

Church Agencies Network Disaster Operations (CAN DO) brings together Caritas Australia, Act for Peace, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), Anglican Board of Mission, Anglican Overseas Aid, Australian Lutheran World Service, Global Mission Partners, Transform Aid International and Uniting World.

Caritas Australia is the lead consortium partner in the CAN DO network.

CAN DO collectively shares a deep commitment to providing humanitarian response to disasters, and longer-term preparedness and risk reduction. We work with Indigenous, grassroots organisations to overcome poverty and injustice through empowerment and capacity building of local people.

The combined networks of our Church partners are extensive, providing reach and access to many vulnerable and remote communities across the Pacific. They are often the first responders — able to provide food, water and shelter to those most in need.

Through AHP, CAN DO has received funds in response to numerous emergencies since 2018, most notably: Ambae Volcano Crisis Response Vanuatu 2018-2019 (protection, shelter, WASH, early recovery); Sulawesi Tsunami and Earthquake Response Indonesia 2018-2019 (WASH, shelter, non-food item distribution); Rohingya Crisis Response in Bangladesh 2020-2023 (protection, WASH, food security and livelihoods, early recovery); multiple COVID-19 response and recovery packages (Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Fiji, PNG, Timor-Leste, Samoa, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Indonesia, Laos, Tonga) 2020-2023; TC Harold Recovery Vanuatu 2021-2024 (Health, WASH, DRR); and the Hunga Tonga – Hunga Ha’apai response 2022-2024 (protection, livelihoods, WASH, early recovery).

Within the AHP Disaster READY program, CAN DO is implementing preparedness activities in Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, PNG and Timor-Leste.

 
A Pacific islander woman writes information about disasters on a chalkboard. Her back is facing the camera.

Children learning about disaster risk management, Solomon Islands.
April 2013 ©Richard Wainwright

Above: CAN DO member logos

Recent Field Stories

Featured
Youth champion supporting AHP WASH efforts in Rohingya camps
Youth champion supporting AHP WASH efforts in Rohingya camps

Young Rohingya refugee and volunteer Hafezur is helping his community to stay safe and healthy through water testing, WASH facilities management and repairs.

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Boosting financial independence for women in Cox’s Bazar through cash transfers
Boosting financial independence for women in Cox’s Bazar through cash transfers

E-cash transfers are giving women in host communities in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, the chance to start their own small businesses, and to have greater control over their finances.

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Sowing seeds of resilience
Sowing seeds of resilience

In Timor-Leste, Disaster READY is working with local parishes to ensure communities are becoming more resilient and adaptive to the impacts of climate change.

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Assistive devices bringing new freedoms for people with disabilities in Cox's Bazar
Assistive devices bringing new freedoms for people with disabilities in Cox's Bazar

Through the AHP response in Bangladesh, people living with disabilities in host communities and Rohingya camps have been supported with assistive devices to improve their quality of life through partner Christian Aid and DSK.

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Slow food festival supporting a healthy Vanuatu in the face of COVID-19
Slow food festival supporting a healthy Vanuatu in the face of COVID-19

Local food is important for the resilience and health of Vanuatu families, especially as they have weathered the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. An innovative food festival in South Pentecost last year highlighted local cooking and preservation techniques, and communities are now planning for it to become an annual event.

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Ripples of change for Doroteia after water access improvements
Ripples of change for Doroteia after water access improvements

When her village gained improved access to water with support from Disaster READY, Doroteia was able to become a businesswoman, selling her produce at market.

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Seeding resilience against uncertainty in PNG’s South Fly
Seeding resilience against uncertainty in PNG’s South Fly

In Papua New Guinea’s Western Province, COVID-19 outbreaks have impacted the ability of rural communities to travel to town. Through the AHP COVID-19 response, new agricultural methods are supporting food security and resilience in hard-to-reach communities.

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Patience and time needed to combat vaccine hesitancy in Papua New Guinea
Patience and time needed to combat vaccine hesitancy in Papua New Guinea

Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP) NGOs have been supporting the COVID-19 response in Papua New Guinea (PNG) since the pandemic was declared in 2020, but are now focusing on supporting the vaccine roll-out and combatting mis-information. This field story looks at the work being undertaken by CAN DO and ABC International Development.

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