Disaster Readiness and Climate Change (Pacific Region)
Cyclones and droughts are increasing the frequency and intensity across the Pacific. We support our partners to prepare vulnerable communities and reduce the impacts of natural disasters. $1 spent in preparedness saves $15 in response later. This now includes pandemics like COVID-19.
Activities include community-based risk assessment and contingency planning, training networks of disaster response chaplains and resourcing our partner churches with Christian theology that gives hope and inspires faith-filled action.
Part of this program includes working ecumenically through the Church Agencies Network-Disaster Operations consortium (CAN-DO) funded by the Australian Government as part of the Australian Humanitarian Partnership Program.
Resources
UnitingWorld has taken the lead within CAN-DO on coordinating the writing and development of a ‘Theology of Disaster Resilience in a Changing Climate.’ This work, undertaken by Pasifika theologians following a participatory baseline survey across four Pacific countries, is a resource for communities and churches to explore the meaning of resilience, preparedness and suffering during disaster from a biblical point of view. These resources are available for download here.
Our ImpactWe and our partners have been able to respond to COVID-19 and TC Harold in Tonga, Solomon Islands, PNG, Vanuatu, Fiji, Kiribati and Tuvalu. Partners across Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu and Fiji participated in regional training of Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Networks and are now running training workshops at the national level to build their teams of qualified and ready first responders to support communities in the wake of disaster. In Tuvalu, a song about gender based violence has been written and released. In Tonga and Solomon Islands, much needed water and sanitation facilities have been built. In Tonga, 47 Ministers and theological students have now been trained in Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy, covering modules in trauma counselling, keeping people safe and the nature of disaster. In Kiribati, 29 church leaders trained and qualified as Disaster Recovery Chaplains. This group will respond to disaster recovery needs in communities across 18 of the 23 inhabited islands. In Solomon Islands, radio segments led by church leaders have reinforced positive messages about hygiene, preparedness and addressing gender based violence; reaching around 70 per cent of the population. In Tuvalu, 14 church leaders qualified as Disaster Recovery Chaplains. This group will support communities in seven islands to help people deal with the stresses and impacts of COVID-19. An estimated 75 per cent of the Tuvaluan population (7,984 people) have been reached through a nation-wide TV and radio campaign focusing on faith, gender equality and protection and COVID-19. Twenty new water tanks were installed throughout Tonga. These have directly benefited more than 83 people (57 per cent women and 15 per cent people with disabilities) and helped another 124 indirectly. In Vanuatu, COVID-19 related sermons were played on national television and livestreamed on Facebook (receiving 114 comments and 257 likes). |
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Media
Fiji, Vanuatu, PNG, Solomon Islands
Methodist Church in Fiji, Presbyterian Church in Vanuatu, United Church in Papua New Guinea, United Church in the Solomon Islands
Climate Resilience
News from the field
- Tuākoi ‘lei Declaration – Pacific church leaders call for urgent climate action
20 years ago in March 2004, church leaders from across the Pacific gathered in Tarawa, Kiribati, to lead a vital consultation on climate change. Out of the consultation, they released the powerful Otin Taai* Declaration, committing their churches to urgent action and calling on Christians throughout the world to act in solidarity. To mark 20 years since the consultation, the Pacific Conference of Churches hosted the Otin Taai +20 Conference, a gathering of members and partners to take stock of ... - Pacific churches strengthen partnerships to address climate change
UnitingWorld Pacific Partner Learning Forum, 2024 Rev. Taualo Penivao, General Secretary of our partner Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu, summed up the mood of the UnitingWorld Pacific Partner Learning Forum that was hosted by the Pacific Theological College in Suva: “What we have done this week is very very important in supporting how we collaborate in the Pacific.” Representatives from eight church partners from across the Pacific joined UnitingWorld staff, special guests from Pacific Conference of Churches, Pacific Theological College in Suva, Fiji, the Uniting Church in ... - Pastoral messages connecting faith and COVID-19 in the Pacific
Pacific church leaders and theologians have been guiding people of faith through the COVID-19 crisis. When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit the region, Pacific Island nations were quick to guard against the disease with safety lockdowns. The limited health infrastructure across much of the Pacific meant its populations were particularly vulnerable. Pacific churches too were proactive in urging people to follow official health and safety advice during lockdowns, as well as giving theological guidance to help people of faith (the vast majority in ... - Tropical Cyclone Harold and COVID-19
In the middle of preparing COVID-19 lockdown measures, Tropical Cyclone Harold hit the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and Tonga over 1-11 April. Reaching up to Category 5, the cyclone forced people into evacuation centres where proper physical distancing became impossible. Homes and food supplies were destroyed, resulting in what has been called a “double-disaster” for the people and communities affected. Below are some updates from our church partners. Solomon Islands TC Harold struck the Solomon Islands first as a Category 3 cyclone, damaging ... - Can theology prevent disasters?
Theology can’t prevent disasters, but can help people and communities prepare for them and lessen the impact. That’s why we’ve been supporting our Pacific partners to develop a theology of disaster resilience and share it across their churches and the wider Pacific. Our church partners work among communities who have been taught to believe that natural disasters are an unavoidable punishment for personal or societal wrongdoing. This understanding of the nature of disaster sometimes means people haven’t thought through the practical ...