Ready in Rigo as PNG communities strengthen their disaster preparedness
Above: The construction phase of the water catchment in Molegolo. Photo: Jerome Wafia/ChildFund PNG
With the support of the Disaster READY program, nine Papua New Guinea communities in Rigo, Central Province, have been guided on developing their own Community Action Plans to reduce disaster risk. The initiative has been rolled out by ChildFund PNG, a member of the Disaster READY consortium in PNG led by Plan Australia.
Through a participatory process, the communities, including youths, examined the risks and vulnerabilities in their local area for both slow and fast onset disasters, the frequency and impacts of the risks, and their capacity as a community to respond.
Once their comprehensive plans were complete, it was time for action.
Each community received 4,000 kina to undertake the work or preparations they identified as being the biggest priority for reducing their risks and vulnerabilities to disaster.
Out of the nine communities, five proposed improving their water sources as their main priority from the action plans, while four others decided to focus on increasing agricultural activities for food security.
The action plans were finalised in early 2021, but due to COVID-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions, activities were delayed. In June, the ChildFund PNG project team was able to start procuring the supplies for each of the nine project communities.
Above: The completed catchment, filled with water. Photo: Jerome Wafia/ChildFund PNG
In Molegolo village, which has a population of around 500 people, the community had identified improved access to water as being a priority action in their plan.
Residents of the village were collecting their water from a small creek about 200m away. But during the region’s long dry season, or when there were droughts, they were faced with water shortages.
The villagers identified a spring water source and wanted to build a dam to use this to provide water for the village. ChildFund supported the community with technical knowledge and building resources to construct the small gravity-fed water system.
The system consists of a catchment, built from concrete, and located about 200m from the village, which can store up to 1000L of water when full. The water from the spring is directed into the catchment via a PVC pipe. The water is then piped down into the village. A tap stand has been constructed in the centre of the village to allow domestic use.
Above: An elderly member of the Molegolo community using the tap stand in the centre of the village. Photo: Jerome Wafia/ChildFund PNG
This closer access to water will reduce the walking distance, time and workload for women and men in the community. Women were most commonly tasked with collecting water for households, and they were carrying heavy 50L water containers back and forward to meet their needs.
The water is now being used by the villagers, and women, men and children can easily access water to use in their homes. Inspired by the improvement from the AHP Disaster READY project, the community is now planning to take on more initiatives to improve the water system, including adding a tank to serve as an additional reservoir. The tank will increase the volume of water available so that more tap stands can be added in the village.
In the past, the village was significantly impacted during the dry season or droughts, but the new water system is spring-fed, which means, along with the storage catchment, that water should be available year round.