Water for All - Vanuatu
In September 2018, the Government of Vanuatu declared a state of emergency on Ambae Island due to ongoing volcanic activities. The island’s population was evacuated, with many people relocation to Santo Island.
The majority of the evacuees took shelter near Luganville, Santo’s town centre. Access to clean water was, and remains, a challenge for these evacuees. Luganville has one water company that supplies water to its usual population of 11,000. With this population increasing by 6,000, strains on the water supply quickly became evident.
John Tambe, a chief relocated from Ambae with 200 people from his family and community, took shelter in a displaced persons camp on a rural Anglican Church mission area just outside of Luganville town. While there was a 6,000 litre water tank and tap in the camp, it didn’t always work.
“There was very little water collected in the tank because the gutter pipe that collected water was so small and there was not much rainfall, so it depleted really fast.
‘We had to wait until midnight for water to run slowly out of the tap. The water would run slowly for a couple of hours. Sometimes there would be no water at all. The community agreed that water for cooking and drinking was the priority, but sometimes they didn’t have enough water even for that,” John explained.
When the water did run out, John and his family would walk three kilometres to shower and wash their clothes.
“If we were able to pay for transport we did, but otherwise we needed to walk. Because this was hard for the women and children, we would sometimes only go every few days," John said.
John’s wife, Lilon, explained the specific issues the lack of clean water presented for women.
“It’s not so bad for the men, but it is very uncomfortable for all of us women in the community when we are not able to bathe for more than 24 hours.
It is shameful for us to have to cook for the family when we are not clean and we stay away from all other family or community activities, like church,” Lilon said.
Above: John and Lilon’s son collects water from the water tank located within the displaced persons camp in Luganville, Santo.
Without water, the ability to earn an income was also hindered.
“We need water to be able to make kava and other little snacks to sell for income. The money that we make is so important for families at this time when we have no land, no gardens, no transport and no other source of income for basic needs. When there is no water we lose that opportunity,” said John.
As part of the Australian Humanitarian Partnership’s response to the Ambae volcano and support for relocated and host communities, World Vision worked on improving the water supply.
The tap in the camp where John and his family were staying was right at the end of the Luganville water system and the water system could not meet the increased demands of the additional poulation.
World Vision’s Northern Area Program Manager, Vomboe Molly, explained that the lack of water created other issues for the evacuees, specifically associated with poor sanitation and hygiene practices, increasing the risk of disease.
World Vision supported the Luganville fire station to truck in water to as regularly as possible and a more reliable water catchment was installed to increase the water collected during rainfall.
John explained the impact of World Vision’s support on the evacuees.
“Not only did World Vision give us access to more clean water but they also helped us build new toilets and spent time talking to us about water management and hygiene, especially for the women and children,” he said.
Note: Humanitarian assistance provided by Word Vision to Ambae evacuees who were relocated to Santo was funded through the Australian Government via the Australian Humanitarian Partnership and through private donations from World Vision USA, World Vision Canada, and World Vision Australia.