October

5! , 2012
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Fiji Hub !

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Construction team carry
out secondary site assessments in the Yasawas 345*6$7$8*9-:-;-*<,=*
****************************************************************************
******************************************* ********************************!,>,:)*?@A?*

When Global Vision International and The Yasawa Trust began their construction project in Fiji in June 2011,
one of the primary goals was to increase the availability of fresh drinking water in the communities of the
Central Yasawa Group. After a year of working towards this goal, secondary site assessments have now been
completed in all the villages GVI/YTF has worked in.
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The Yasawa
Islands
have(76*+!
struggled
with3*(-$&$0$2/*+!
water problems
for($!
years
and&,(,A!
nowB/%*!
withC%(*)#*6(!
longer dry
seasons,
due to
C%:*)(*4),(*!D*0(!9),%+*#(!;CD9?!,%&!E%&*).,(*)!F/+',0!G*%+'+!;EFG?8!>00!+'):*7+!,)*!#$360*(*&!,(!
climate change,
and less reliable rainfall during the wet season, the situation was becoming progressively
1$')!most
&/11*)*%(!
&*6(-!
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IJK3@!
KJ"I3@!or"IJ"K3!
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worse. While
of the
villages
have
boreholes
wells, L!
these
are not
of drinking
and often
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become dangerously
low during the dry season. The most simple and effective way to improve the overall
accessibility
to fresh water is through rainwater harvesting (RWH). Over the past year GVI/YTF has installed
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20 rainwater harvesting tanks in 9 villages in the Central Yasawa Group. The RWH infrastructure
has added
over 180,000 litres of filtered drinking water to these 9 communities.
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carried out secondary site assessments to reassess the water security in the 9 villages a year on
from the projects
inception. In each community GVI/YTF checked the status of all new and improved
M3!./&*!(),%+*#(8!
infrastructure, created maps that detailed the location of any fresh water supply (including GPS position), and
interviewed members of the community. GVI/YTF documented the condition of each RWH system, the
materials that had been used during installation and identified any outstanding materials required. Community
465! about water security issues in their village and if the GVI/YTF systems had been a
members were asked
positive and sustainable solution to the drinking water shortages.
345!
The site assessments took place from late August to early September, which is towards the end of the dry
season. This meant that it was the optimal time of year to survey the impact of the RWH systems.
GVI staff
!
and volunteers spoke with the headmen
in each village, as well as with numerous other members of the
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communities. In each village, people expressed their appreciation
for GVI/YTFs commitment to increasing
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their access
to
safe,
filtered
drinking
water.
Since
people
in
the
village
been drinking
filtered($(,0!
water from
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(-*! (,)2*(*&!
1/+-! +6*#/*+!
the GVI/YTF
tanks
they
have
stopped
getting
sick
as
often,
said
the
village
spokesperson
of
Nabukeru
,4'%&,%#*@! .-/#-!#,%!&*(*)3/%*!(-*!+(,%&/%2!+($#P!$1!(-*!(,)2*(*&!1/+-!6$6'0,(/$%8!9-*!+'):*7!/+! village.
Many of the people surveyed also stressed that they had begun rationing water as numerous tanks in their
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villages were
now empty, but without the GVI/YTF tanks they would have had to start rationing water much
,%&!dry
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3/%'(*+!
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9-*!RWH
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($!refilled
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(-*7! )$(,(*!
earlier in the
season.
Luckily,
with
rainfall
tanks
have#0$+*!
been
and
are no
longer rationing their drinking water.
"!
!

In addition to collecting information on RWH systems, GVI/YTF also asked community members about their
!
!
!
agricultural
! practices. Most villages only cultivate root crops, which do not contain sufficient nutrients to sustain
a healthy diet. Eight communities have asked GVI/YTF to assist with the development of youth managed
! vegetable gardens. These gardens will grow a diverse range of vegetables to help improve the diet
community
! any surplus
!
! then! be sold
! to local
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of village members and
can
resorts as an alternative source of income. With
the work on the RWH systems
almost complete, the community gardens are345*6$7$8*9-:-;-*<,=*
an exciting new opportunity for
****************************************************************************
GVI/YTF to continue their work with
communities
in
the
Central
Yasawa
Group.
******************************************* ********************************!,>,:)*?@A?*

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Re-visiting the villages towards the end of their first dry season since our project began has reminded us how
crucial our work has been. With the new RWH installations drinking water supplies can now be sustained for
much longer without rationing during the dry season, the quality of drinking water has been enhanced by filter
systems and
water security on the existing tanks has been improved so that less water is wasted. We will now
!
use the information gathered from the water audits carried out in each village to compile a comprehensive
report on #$%&'#(!)*+*,)#-!(-,(!./00!1,#/0/(,(*!0$%2!(*)3!4*%*1/(+!1$)!(-*!0$#,0!#$33'%/(/*+!$1!(-*!5,+,.,+!,%&!
the availability of fresh water for the entire Takini, giving an overview more technical than current
Government
reports.
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