"Parts of the Temotu province of Solomon Islands has been affected nearly as badly as Vanuatu," explains the seasoned skipper. "But because far less people live there it has not triggered an International Aid effort and some communities have been left stranded. So we are focusing our efforts on the most vulnerable and isolated villages, where we have already been working at the grassroots level for around five years. Cyclone Pam is one of the strongest to hit in the last decade, and this is exactly the sort of thing that we expected to happen as a result of climate change. Houses are wrecked, fruit trees blown down, water catchments ruined. The people have survived, but now every day is a struggle."
A small and robust New Zealand NGO, OceansWatch has been working with island communities for many years, developing sustainable livelihoods, building resilience and educating the locals on sea level rises, erosion control and marine conservation, while at the same time blending this with tribal knowledge so that the islanders can live a more sustainable life without having to forgo their indigenous roots.
"Right now it's a battle to find food and water and rebuild homes and infrastructure. We have appointed Nelson Nyieda, a Temotu resident, to provide on the ground organisational support to the villages and update us and the Solomon Islands National Disaster Office. He will be responsible for distributing our aid resources and mind the equipment we have available."
Under the guidance of OceansWatch specialist volunteers, Nyieda has trained as a Reef Guardian and is also trained in the Virgin Coconut Oil Sustainable Livelihoods program. When the OceansWatch yachts arrive in Solomon Islands in a couple of months Nelson will travel with them and continue his training in all areas of Sustainable Livelihood projects so that communities can self fund their own adaptation strategies and development.
