BY NED GAGAHE
Participants that attended the Solomon Islands Integrated Vulnerability Assessment (SIIVA) weeklong workshop have commended the training saying it is really useful and relevant to their work.
The weeklong training commenced on Monday 27th March and will conclude this Friday. The training has brought together more than 30 participants from various Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) organized by Climate Change Division of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM) in collaboration with the Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP), Disaster READY Program Partners and key stakeholders.
The training was aimed at equipping the participants with the relevant skills and knowledge on how to use the SIIVA tool to collect right data and information to support the Climate Change Division on climate vulnerability assessment when working across with Solomon Islands communities.
Speaking to Island Sun yesterday a participant William Rikirongo who works for World Vision SI as a Community Development Officer and is based in Makira province.
“As a participant the training has broaden his knowledge and understanding about the SIIVA tool, its methodology, components and user interface itself. There are communities we have identified to conduct Disaster Risk Management activities.
“The training is so useful because it is of similar nature to our baseline survey we have done in the communities. The baseline survey is similar because we use tablets, survey questions etc… That’s is what we are doing in our work.
“For me it’s a great learning experience and valuable one to get to know what the SIIVA tool is, how it is used and the technical aspects of it How to interact with focused groupings in the communities. I see it important that we as organizations to work with the tool in our field work. To get fair knowledge and understanding on how to use the tool to get relevant data that holistically captured the pressing issues within the community.” Rikirongo said.
Another participant, Naomi Tai is a person with disability. She is currently the Disaster Risk Reduction Officer for People with Disability Solomon Islands (PWDSI).
She is currently heading a disaster reduction program under the Australian Humanitarian Partners (AHP) on the inclusion of people with disability.
“The training has given me a valuable opportunity to learn about the SIIVA tool. The tool will ensure that needs of people with disabilities are captured to enable government come up with interventions which address the issues within the community.” Tai said.
Meanwhile, Principal Resilience Officer of the Climate Change Division Mr. Marlchom Zion Row, said SIIVA is an assessment tool that is crucial to assist decision makers and policy makers to see how they will intervene in terms of projects to address problems of people.
“SIIVA tool is a holistic approach that addresses the nine human security key objectives that is geared towards addressing the pressing issues faced by people in their communities.
“Decision makers can use the data collected to design policy that fits in the context we faced in the country. These data are crucial to develop interventions to address the needs of people.” Mr. Row said.
Participants of the training includes, Save the Children SI, Oxfam SI, World Vision SI, Church Agency Network Disaster Operations (CAN DO) that includes, ADRA (Adventist Development Relief Agency), CARITAS & ACOM, Live and Learn SI and Plan International Solomon Islands and People with Disabilities Solomon Islands (PWDSI).
Disaster Ready is supported by the Australian Government and implemented by all its Australian Humanitarian (AHP) partners in Solomon Islands.
