BY JOY OFASIA
THE People with Disabilities Solomon Islands recently concluded a significant training program aimed at fostering inclusive participation of people living with disabilities and residents within the Karaina Community at White River, West of Honiara.
The theme of the one-day training, ‘Inclusive participation for persons with disabilities during Climate Change and Disaster Crises’ focused on empowering the residents and individuals with disabilities by enhancing and promoting their knowledge and skills on Climate Change and Disaster Crises’ related issues in the Solomon Islands.
People with disabilities Solomon Islands Representative Stella Waioha told SUNDAY ISLES that the training aims to empower people with disabilities in the Karaina community to know about disaster information during times of climate change and disaster.
“The idea here is to discuss disaster information’s, especially looking at preparedness before, during, and after the disaster strikes. Also, we discussed important information on how the community will have to take action in preparations when disaster strikes and how to protect the community,” Stella said.
A one-day training program involving people with disabilities, community youth, women, older people, church leaders, and disaster representatives aims to target vulnerable coastal communities like Karaina in West Honiara and Mamana Water in Central Honiara.
She added that the program emphasizes that people with disabilities must be part of the community taskforce groups to address their issues. This is because sometimes able people will overlook the needs of people with disabilities.
“The people with disabilities have always been left out on almost all activities in the community setup. We must understand that this group of people has different impairments, which leads to different needs. Therefore, the people with disabilities must be included and actively participate in decision-making on the board or committees of a community.”
The training was facilitated by Australian Humanitarian Program Coordinator Naomi Tai, and funded by the Global Green Grant.
