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Recovery after the wave

A year after a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated parts of the Solomon Islands, locals are still struggling to rebuild their lives. Pacific Program Coordinator John Kelleher looks at the complexities of the disaster response.

Just over 12 months ago on 2 April 2007, at 7.40am local time, the Solomon Islands was struck by an 8.1 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that caused extensive damage to the country’s Western and Choiseul provinces.

The disaster killed 52 people, damaged or destroyed around 5,500 houses and wrecked vital infrastructure such as wharves, schools and health clinics. Among the most severely affected areas was Ghizo Island, the provincial centre of Western province, where 32 people were killed and approximately 4,000 people were left homeless.

When the earthquake struck, many families on Ghizo Island recognised the signs of an impending tsunami and abandoned their seaside homes, fleeing to higher ground. While some are gradually returning to their homes, others remain in the hill-top camps which sprang up spontaneously in the aftermath.

Oxfam Australia responded immediately to the disaster. Our Solomon Islands’ based Disaster Management Officer Rex Tara led the first assessment mission to the affected islands, at the request of national disaster management authorities.

After that initial assessment, we quickly deployed additional technical staff to Ghizo Island to begin a program of water, sanitation, public health and emergency shelter work, jointly funded by Oxfam Australia and the Australian and New Zealand Governments.

Our work has included the distribution of 240 tarpaulins and 300 family-sized tents to displaced families; the construction of water supply systems in 40 camps and eight villages that provide at least 15 litres of clean drinking water per person per day; and the building of more than 140 communal and family latrines. As well, more than 60 people, including 40 women, have been trained in basic water system maintenance techniques.

‘’We always had some water but Oxfam helped. Oxfam did a lot, we didn’t have any tanks or toilets before,” a camp resident at Vori Vori said.

Residents at Mile 6 Camp said: “If Oxfam did not provide water and sanitation, a lot of illnesses would have broken out.”

To prevent major outbreaks of disease, our public health team worked with displaced people to establish hygiene committees in every camp. These committees have played a key role in ensuring that our safe hygiene campaign has been successful, that families affected by the disaster stay healthy and that there have been no outbreaks of diseases such as cholera. The committees also helped us deliver kits containing basic items such as soap, toilet paper, brushes and buckets in all camps on Ghizo Island.

One particularly successfully project was an eight-week hygiene promotion program targeted specifically at children. The program covered topics such as disease transmission, clean hands, using toilets properly, drinking safe water, fly reduction, oral hygiene and malaria.

In follow-up evaluation, children said they enjoyed the program, particularly the drawing, puppet show and games. One child said she like the program because “Oxfam helps us learn more about how to keep us from getting sick.”

Children spoke about washing their hands now after using the toilet and before eating and passing on the messages they had learned to their parents.

“Before I didn’t mind if I washed my hands before eating, but now I always do,” one child said.

Oxfam has helped affected residents to meet with the local authorities responsible for recovery and rehabilitation and express their ideas about how this work is taking place.

Women representatives on Ghizo have been helped to come together to discuss their concerns about recovery work and present these to the local politicians and Oxfam also hosted a forum for displaced people from around Ghizo Island at which 55 representatives from 40 camps were able to discuss their concerns with local leaders.

People living in the camps on Ghizo have also had opportunities to tell Oxfam how to change and improve its work. Comprehensive reviews of Oxfam’s water and sanitation work have been conducted with camp residents allowing timely and comprehensive feedback on activities from those directly using these facilities. Representatives from camps and communities, along with other stakeholders, including government agencies and other non-government organisations, have also been involved in evaluating the overall impact of Oxfam’s work so far.

“We are happy with Oxfam’s work, they have improved life,” residents in Bibolo said.

Unfortunately not all things on Ghizo are so positive. A year on from the disaster, many needs still exist. Food and income sources are stretched, water and sanitation facilities still require upgrading and relocating as the population slowly starts to return to their seaside villages and there is a need to support disaster preparedness activities so communities are ready if another emergency strikes. It is also vital to ensure that the needs of women and youth, often marginalised in Solomon Islands society, are heard in the recovery phase.

The tsunami impacted heavily on the livelihoods of people in rural communities on Ghizo Island. Many people lost vital equipment and resources such as canoes, paddles, farming equipment and fishing lines. It is also predicted there will be a long-term impact on fish productivity due to habitat destruction, while roads and bridges vital for transporting produce to market has been damaged.

Shelter needs are particularly dire. While some people have moved back to their seaside villages, even one year after the disaster about 2,185 people in rural parts of Ghizo Island are living in temporary camps or staying in their own temporary shelters under rapidly deteriorating tarpaulins and tents.

Movement back to villages has slowed down for various reasons — uncertainty whether national authorities will provide support for rebuilding; limited access to bush materials to build or repair houses; confusion over land title; and ongoing fear among communities that another earthquake or tsunami will strike, a concern exacerbated by regular tremors felt around the island.

Affected families have used tents and tarpaulins provided by Oxfam and other agencies, as well as timber, bamboo and palm debris from the tsunami, to construct rough shelters. Since the tsunami, tropical storms have ravaged many of these temporary shelters which led to Oxfam distributing 150 shelter repair kits.

In response to these needs, we are developing a longer-term program of work which will include supporting communities to maintain water supply, water storage and sanitation facilities; helping families and communities develop shelter recovery plans and providing them with supplies; developing income-earning activities and providing business and skills training; and training communities in disaster preparedness.

We are supporting the recently formed Western Provincial Council of Women to keep women informed about developments in recovery and reconstruction work and ensure their voices are heard during decision-making. We are also working with Oxfam International youth partners based in Ghizo to ensure that young people are involved in the recovery process.

These programs are designed to help displaced families return to their villages and rebuild their homes and their lives. While it will be extremely challenging and will require great sensitivity, we hope that communities will finally return to normality.

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