ReliefWeb

The Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management Inia Seruiratu, pleaded with villagers of Matacula in Tailevu to prepare early for the cyclone season.

Minister Seruiratu was chief guest at the conclusion of a Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR) Training conducted by Partners for Community Development Fiji (PCDF) at Matacula Village on Friday.

In addressing the training participants after the presentation of their certificates, Minister Seruiratu said the CBDRR Training was crucial in assisting communities prepare for disasters.

He said the trainings have greatly assisted many communities such as Nasautoka and Kumi in Tailevu during their recent preparations for Tropical Cyclone Yasa. Minister Seruiratu said these positive results were encouraging and indicated that it had achieved its purpose.

“Many people have regretted the devastations caused by disasters to their communities because they did not prepare. We must remember that we cannot control the strength of the winds, but the least we can do is prepare,” Minister Seruiratu said.

“Early preparation is important because we only have one life. We can replace our houses, we can replace our cars and machines washed away in floods, but we can never replace one’s life. One of the main causes of deaths during disasters is not being prepared at all and ignorance of people towards the issue of preparedness.”

“If there is anything we should work together on as a village, it is to be prepared. Every household and every village should be prepared.”

Minister Seruiratu shared that based on experiences he witnessed as Minister for Disaster Management over the years, the most basic responsibility people could play to ensure their safety during disasters was early preparedness.

“As fathers in our homes, it is our responsibility to ensure the safety of our families. Preparedness is key to saving lives.”

The Minister also pleaded with the training participants to ensure that they put to good use the skills and knowledge they have acquired during the week-long training.