Fiji Hub Achievement Report

March 2016
Objective: WASH Awareness

Disaster Response and WASH Promotion

First Response after Tropical Cyclone Winston
Greater access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene after a disaster has hit, can lessen the impact of
diarrhea outbreaks, and reduce the burden of morbidity and mortality associated with faecal- oral
infections which are expected after a natural or man-made disaster. In some emergencies and postemergency situations, diarrhea can be responsible for the majority of deaths. Realizing the
importance of providing these interventions during this time highlights the need to carry it on for
longer term development, ensuring spread of disease is minimal, by encouraging hygiene promotion
and sanitation facilities that are both working and sanitary.

Since the devastating effects of cyclone Winston GVI has managed to have contact with over 639
people including nearly all children in the Dawasamu District. GVI have and are continuing work on:

Resupplying village and settlements with bare necessities, checking in with each village
making sure they told GVI what they needed. Overall GVI supplying 193 soap bars, 65,
mosquito coils, 60 kerosene lamps with fuel, 19 bleach, 8 rain water tank repairs, 4 tippy tap
installations.
Inspected the functionality of toilets, ensuring there is 1 toilet to 50 people (the WHO
maximum ratio in emergencies). Most of the district had enough working toilets between

them, GVI had mended two flush toilets, both with buying the materials and assembling the
parts.
Employing effective hygiene hardware. Hardware being installing Hand washing stations
(i.e., Happy Taps) to areas without working taps, mainly near the kitchen or next to toilets.
As well as ensuring safe water is in sufficient quantity for regular hand washing to be
achieved, GVI has ensured the availability of soap, using a soap on a rope and the delivery of
soap to all households in the District.
The completion of hygiene software. Software being hygiene promotion strategies to
encourage hand washing with soap and other healthy behaviors. Overall GVI supplied 45
UNICEF Emergency WASH leaflets in Fijian to homes over the Dawasamu district. GVI
developed a presentation for children of all ages, small adult groups and house to house
visits. These presentations proved to be successful, already women are asking for advice of
health and hygiene. The children were engaged in a hand washing song, playing hand games
with glitter to depict how germs spread. For the Adults, the presentation was on a more
serious note, a video was shown to highlight the way cholera is spread; GVI stressed the
likelihood of disease transmission after a disaster and encouraged hand washing with soap,
listing all the appropriate times. GVI also spoke about water safety, boiling and the ease of
using SODIS (Solar Disinfection, clear water bottles filled with water shaken with air bubbles
and placed on tin roofing to absorb the suns UV rays. An effective way to purify water).
Water supply maintenance and cleaning. Rain water tanks were checked for any open piping
and covered with mesh to stop the tank from any foreign objects falling in from the outside.

GVI will continue to check into each village in the Dawasamu District, inquiring about the health of
the village and their own resupply needs. GVI understand the need to address sanitation and hygiene
within each village and settlement, and believe the communities have been working hard to stop the
spread of disease while they go through this hard time.