Emergency Disaster Relief for Moturiki Fiji

The four communites of Motutiki that we are focused on with the Hurricane Winston disaster relief and recovery project and that were trained in the Happy Chickens livelihood project, continue with the work in their communities.  Over three thousand dollars of materials for chicken houses have so far been purchased, and sent out, build with the contribution of local labor.  Three hundred chicks were sent, and now the chickens have begun laying and are providing high protein food to the communities. 

Mr. Simione Koto has visited the four Moturiki communites twice since our last report to folow up on the project. He reports that two of the village communities are doing much better than the others, and this is due to the training that community members received at the Sigatoka workshop.  Women have been key to project success. 

We are now considering how best to expand and improve on the project based on these initial lessons learned, but again we have decided to focus on building and restoring livelihoods rather than helping repair houses, which people are getting support from elsewhere, although we did initially send three large chainsaws, with which they continue to mill felled trees into timber with for rebuilding.  

We recently received the tragic news of the death of Mrs Kasa Dilo, our project leader in Daku village.  She was a key mover of the project.  Her health was suffereing from the stress of the disaster, as concrete home had been completely swept away by the waves in the hurricane last year, and she suffered from high blood pressure and diabetes, complicated by the stress of coping wth all the damage and destruction.  We have yet to visit her husband Johne and the family fro condolences and to ensure that the work continues in the village in her absence.  She will be greatly missed, but we must ensure project success for the sake of the community.  

Thank you again for all that you have done to help make this project a success- touching the lives of so many in need.  It is not always so easy, so please remember us and of course these gentle island communities in your thoughts and prayers.     

Bula (hello) to all of our supporters!

Continual progress is being made and the communities are slowly getting themselves back on their feet.  While many continue to live in tents, they do have food and clean water now. Mostly they are helping each other.  The sweet potatoes are growing and coconuts are healing and beginning to bear again.  As I reported last time, we decided to focus on food security over building materials, in order to make better and more equitable use of limited funds.

We sent materials for four mobile rearing pens, which were put together on site, and the 300 chicks we initially sent are already out foraging, and so we can send more chicks as soon as the communities tell us they are ready.  We have had to send some feed, but the communities are becomng more self sufficient as they learn to make feed out of local resources. We are now growing morniga tree seedlings at the farm- to bring to the communities soon.  

Last month we sent materials for a chicken house for the Moturiki primary school, but we don't yet have enough reources to help the other three villages with this, so they are making do with damaged roofing iron and timber salvaged from the piles of hurricane generated rubble.   Koto our communtiy officer has recently viited the comunities for follow up and we will be posting that information as it comes in.  

We do have a great example of a local materials chicken house, with Global Vision International, the UK based volunteer group stationed on Caqalai island (Moturiki District).  Several from GVI were trained in Happy Chicken methods five months back, and they have raised up a hundred chicks to adulthood and are now getting increasing numbers of much prized eggs.  GVI is working wih their volunteers in the communities on issues of health, sanitation, and recontuction, and we are working with them. They recently opened up their "Happy Chicken Palace", a wonderful and creative chicken house and coop, with access to foraging.  The photos show that event, wtih community chiefs invited and with me a chief guest to cut the ribbon!  Great fun and good food too!   GVI Fijian staff in particular are educated in the happy chickens to the point where they can help with problem solving and advancement in the communitie.  Kolo and Taione are particularly shining stars in the project. 

Thanks again for your kind and generous support,

Loloma bibi,

Austin