Many of us think luxury holiday destination when we think of Fiji but being stretched over many Islands makes it very difficult to build strong infrastructures. Many smaller Islands such as Moturiki have seen devastating outbreaks of typhoid and other health issues all relating to the lack of fresh water.
Compost toilets initiative
Traditionally we use clean water to flush our toilets and this can be anything from 1 gallon to 5 gallons of water depending on the age of the toilet system. 1 gallon of fresh water flushed away in a community is a huge amount when the community has lack of access to clean water. Compost toilets are an eco-friendly revolution where we can convert human waste into fertilisers for the planet and therefore a great initiative to help improve the health and hygiene of communities in Fiji that lack access to water. Action Change local project in 2019 worked with the community to start installing compost toilets within the community and these locations have seen a decrease in infections and health issues related to poor sanitation
How can we harvest rainwater to provide fresh water?
Fiji is suffering from poor infrastructure to provide access to clean water however the country has two season a year, the dry season and the wet season that is between November and April. During the wet season Fiji has around 3,000mm rainfall on the Islands and can get up to 6,000mm of rainfall in the mountains. With filtering systems we can turn this water into safe drinking water.
Action Change work with the local community to build and install large rain water tanks within local communities to collect as much rain water as possible during the raining season. From these tanks we install the filtering system to turn this water into safe drinking water that the whole community can access. These simple tanks can save lives and fight the spread of diseases such as Typhoid that has recently increased in some Islands in Fiji. With the support of donations and gifts action change project installed 2 tanks last month.
Our Next Project is Recycling…
Sustainable waste management is an identified area of need on Moturiki, therefore our next project will focus on awareness raising workshops, training and the construction of two recycling points that will enable the villages of Moturiki to rid their community of waste in an environmentally responsible fashion.
Currently, there are no recycling points on Moturiki; with your help, we can build one! Last year, our Caqalai team collected over 1000kg of rubbish between the ten villages of Moturiki. Due to its proximity to the sea, Moturiki is directly affected by the overflow of waste that floods into the ocean, and having access to responsible waste disposal will be the key to managing the abundance of waste found on their shores.
Our intent is to build and help to manage two recycling points on Moturiki, with the goal of reducing the amount of waste making its way into the ocean and encouraging sustainable waste management for future generations. Help us in achieving our fundraising goal and contribute to the construction of the first two recycling points.
