Reaching the most vulnerable - Tropical Cyclone Harold, Vanuatu

Above: World Vision Vanuatu distributing supplies following TC Harold. Image: World Vision Vanuatu..

When Tropical Cyclone (TC) Harold hit Vanuatu in April 2020, the Australian Humanitarian Partnership’s Disaster READY Vanuatu partners quickly mobilised to deliver a joint humanitarian response.

Disaster READY Vanuatu partners worked together to plan the most efficient geographic reach and the most effective response to ensure the partners best-placed to deliver on specific response elements did so, avoiding duplication in efforts.

World Vision Vanuatu is one of the AHP Disaster READY Vanuatu partners working in Sanma Province. This presence, combined with a focus on supporting the most vulnerable including people with disabilities, meant World Vision quickly mobilised to support the Sanma Provincial Emergency Operations Centre, the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and local disabled people’s organisation (DPO) the Vanuatu Disability Promotion and Advocacy Association and the Vanuatu Society for People with Disability to respond to TC Harold.

World Vision prioritised its response efforts in order to reach 1,700 families in the hardest hit areas on Santo, Malo and Pentecost islands with shelter supplies and access to immediate post-disaster income. Response activities involved a strong inclusion and protection approach including surge support to the local disability organisations and resources and referral information to women at risk of violence through existing networks of faith and community leaders.  

In the first three months (approximately) of the 12 month AHP TC Harold response, World Vision’s distribution of shelter kits, including toolkits and tarpaulins, supported 1,309 women, 1,253 men, and 2,733 children including 212 people with disability. Ending Violence Packages were distributed to 1,131 households, including 110 households with people with a disability. These packages included information on managing and mitigating the heightened risks of gender-based violence in the aftermath of a disaster and information on available support services.

Above: World Vision delivered shelter kits to households affected by TC Harold. Image: World Vision Vanuatu.

Working with the local DPOs, World Vision prioritised households with a person with a disability during relief item distributions. In addition, household registration teams comprised members accustomed to collecting accurate disability population data in a sensitive manner. Access for people with disabilities was also a consideration when selecting distribution sites.

Director of the Department of Women’s Affairs in Vanuatu and the Gender and Protection Cluster lead for Malekula Island, Mrs Rothina Noka, explained the importance of understanding who the most vulnerable in a community are and their specific needs.

"In disasters where people have been displaced and/or houses have been destroyed, shelter is a basic need for safety, dignity and protection. It is also important that the needs of vulnerable people are understood and targeted in our response so the affected communities can recover faster from this disaster and build resilience,” Mrs Noka said.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has added another layer of complexity to an already difficult situation in Vanuatu. At the time of writing Vanuatu had remained free of COVID-19 cases but World Vision and other AHP partners were not taking any chances. They incorporated COVID-19 awareness raising and mitigation measures at distribution sites, including extra handwashing stations, to ensure the health and safety of the communities.

Above: Viaru was relieved to know that people with disabilities were actively considered in the AHP response to TC Harold in Vanuatu. Image: World Vision Vanuatu.

Sitting out the storm and navigating the debris – in a wheelchair

Viaru is 45 years old and a mother of four. When she and her family realised TC Harold was going to impact their home in South Santo Area 2, her family sheltered in the kitchen, the strongest room in the house.

Viaru is paralysed from the waist down and was reliant on her children to move her to safety during the storm. 

“I have never been so scared in my life. We moved into the kitchen because our house is concrete, and we believed the huge space in there would be a good place for us to wait out the storm. I was so scared when the roof of the house started to fly off because it was the safest place I knew and now it was being torn apart,” she recalled.

The family survived the cyclone, but the roof and walls of their home were damaged and there was debris everywhere, which was difficult for Viaru to navigate in her wheelchair. 

 “I am still a bit shaken, but seeing how you have stepped up and thought of us (people with disabilities) in this great time of need means so much, that I don’t know what to say because people will usually do things in a way that they only consider the able-bodied members of the house and often we are left out.

“Seeing you here shows me I matter,” Viaru said.

Viaru and her family used the tarpaulin given to them to cover the hole in their kitchen, enabling them to continue to live in their home and cook in their kitchen while they began repairs. The tarpaulin also reduced the risk of additional damage to the home as a result of subsequent heavy rains and strong winds.  Supporting families to remain in their homes in the aftermath of a cyclone can provide them, particularly children, with a sense of normality and security as they recover and rebuild.