Resilient women leading recovery from Vanuatu’s December earthquake

Above: A Women I Tok Tok Tugeta member unloads food supplies for an affected community. Photo: ActionAid Vanuatu

Two months on from the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck Vanuatu, communities are still working together to heal and recover.

But thanks to the ActionAid supported network Women I Tok Tok Tugeta – which has been trained to support their local community when a disaster strikes – recovery efforts have been able to reach those hardest hit.

With the support of the Australian Government through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership, ActionAid has so far provided emergency relief to some 3,000 people through its women-led emergency response team. There has been a strong focus on supporting women, particularly women with disabilities, single mothers and pregnant women, because disasters magnify pre-existing inequalities.

Ni-Vanuatu women leading the response have shown incredible strength and resilience while dealing with their own trauma from the disaster. In the days following the quake, the women's network mobilised in Port Vila and surrounding towns to deliver food, clean water, dignity kits, psychosocial support and information cards on how to keep safe in a disaster. And in the following weeks ActionAid was able to expand its response to other affected towns, including Nguna island near Port Vila.

Driven by the motto “leave no one behind”, the team reached hundreds of women with disabilities in Efate in the first week of the response. Child-friendly spaces offering psychosocial support have also given mothers a chance to help their children focus on their wellbeing through play, singing and drawing.

While the journey to recovery is far from over, the power of locally-led and women-led response is demonstrating the resilience of the people of Vanuatu as they get their livelihoods and day-to-day lives back on track.

Above: A food distribution in an affected village. Women with disabilities have been leading in recovery efforts. Photo: ActionAid Vanuatu