OXFAM in the Pacific (OiP) this week launched its short film ‘Cyclone Season’, capturing the incredible disaster preparedness efforts of a rural community in Malaita Province.
The 12-minute film features a theatrical demonstration of the learnings of Oibola Community in the Langa Langa district, who have been part of Oxfam’s Disaster READY Program since 2018.
The community over this period successfully set up a village committee to lead their disaster preparedness and response plans; and equipped with basic trainings on emergency response, compiling initial assessments and situational reports, first aid trainings and gender-based and inclusive trainings.
The film captures Oibola’s colour-coded disaster response plan that the community developed aligned to the Solomon Islands National Management Disaster Office (NDMO) and the Solomon Islands Metrological Services (SIMS) response and reporting systems.
Filming took two days at Oibola starring Oibola residents as actors and portrayals of themselves while additional scenes were taken at the Meteorological Services office in Honiara and a studio session with the national broadcaster SIBC (Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation).
The film also contains live footage of a simulation exercise carried out by Oibola in September 2021.
“This film is a unique video coverage of our work on the Disaster READY Program in partnership with the NDMO, and it captures the great work Oibola have invested in to protect and prepare themselves in times of disaster,” says Oxfam’s Humanitarian Coordinator in the Solomon Islands Nicholas Suava.
The film will also serve as an awareness and education material to support the work of NDMO and SIMS.
Oxfam’s Disaster READY program in the Solomon Islands works closely with the provincial disaster offices of Malaita, Temotu and Guadalcanal and works with 15 communities across these provinces.
The Disaster READY Program is an AHP (Australian Humanitarian Partnership) initiative funded by the Australian Government and delivered by development partners across the Pacific.
