“Strange,” Seru says tersely.

“The weather that we are supposed to be experiencing at this time of the year should be dry and sunny instead it is wet and cold.”

Seru Ramakita, 61, was born and raised in the village of Navuevu – a two-hour drive from Suva, the capital city of Fiji.

“As a result of the continuous rain, we are now experiencing flooding. This is the first time in 50 years that the village has experienced flooding.”

Home to over 300 hundred people, Navuevu village is grappling with one of the many challenges of life with climate change.

As Seru looks out over the water, the midday sun is blanketed by dark clouds as a slight ray of sunshines peeks through a cleft in the clouds. The rustle of the coconut leaves brings back memories, some familiar, some new.

“Even during past cyclones, we did not experience flooding,” he says. “The flooding has affected our root crops.”

The crops ended up getting submerged in water hence affected their growth. “Now we have no choice but to move our farm to higher ground”,  Seru says

“As a result of the saltwater inundation due to the flooding, our root crops such as cassava are not able to grow properly, and all our hard work has gone to waste.”

In this series, we explore how communities are working to reduce the risks of weather-related crises even even as they are busy helping people recover from the last devastating disaster. 

Seru Ramakita shows Fiji Red Cross volunteer Robin Kaiwalu how the incursion of saltwater on his fields due to floding have killed many of his crops. Kaiwalu’s crops were also impaced in a similar way by the floods.

Photo: Kurt Petersen/IFRC

Robin Kaiwalu, 33, is a Fiji Red Cross youth volunteer who also resides in Navuevu village, has been affected by the recent floods.

“The flooding reached up to my knee and my whole plantation was under water.”

“All my crops are damaged including plantain, cassava, taro. Not only do we depend on this for food, but we also sell it as a source of income."

Before joining the Y-Adapt program, Robin was an unemployed youth who focused on his family and hobbies like rugby. When he joined the Y-Adapt program, he realized there was a lot to learn through the Fiji Red Cross programs, which motivated him to become a volunteer. He has been volunteering for five months now.

WHAT IS Y-ADAPT

Y-Adapt is a youth-based training program designed to educate, engage and inspire young people to take action and become climate change leaders in their communities. It also builds climate resilience through increased technical understanding and planning skills to take climate action.

Over 60 youths have participated in the Y-Adapt program. About 70 per cent of them were unemployed or had dropped out of school. However, some are now pursuing vocational studies, while others have found employment in hotels or are seeking jobs.

Through collective action and collaboration, the youth can leverage their diverse ideas, skills, and perspectives to tackle climate change challenges effectively.

Fiji Red Cross Society, with support from Japanese Red Cross and IFRC, has been able to train the youth volunteers in Navuevu and equip them with knowledge, skills and resources to address the issue of flooding in the village.

In the village, any activity must be approved at a village meeting before proceeding. The youths consulted the village headman to help present their action plan at the meeting, where it was subsequently approved. 

A Fiji Red Cross volunteer talks to a local resident as part of a Dengue Fever awareness campaign.

Photo: Fiji Red Cross Society

To ensure active participation, the youths organized a garbage drive along their coastal area and within the village. The drive saw a good turnout, including stakeholders like hotels, the police, the Provincial Council, Disability Associations, and villagers, resulting in the collection of over 150 kg of rubbish.

Since most youths were unemployed and needed bus fare and funding for necessary documentation, the village collectively agreed to cover these expenses to support the youth group's initiatives. 

The village was pleased to see the youths working together to achieve their goals.

Fiji Red Cross youth volunteers build a rubbish bin as part of efforts to keep waterways clear of debris that might cause blockages and worsen the impacts of floods.

Photo: Kurt Petersen/IFRC

“After consultations with the village head and the elders, we decided that we came to the conclusion that we needed to construct rubbish bins to help with proper disposal of rubbish,” says Robin.

Buying a large bin to accommodate the village's population is very expensive for the youths and involves a lengthy process through the Town Council and Provincial Office before it can be installed in the village. The youths were encouraged to keep their activities low-cost, achievable, and within a set timeframe, so they decided to construct their own bin.

“This way the rubbish would not block the drains and the next time it rains; the water will not overflow into the village,” says Robin.

“We are very grateful and appreciative to Fiji Red Cross for implementing this program in our village,” says Seru.

Fiji Red Cross Society youth volunteers erect a makeshift shelter as part of community trainings on disaster preparedness. The aim of this training was to prepare volunteers for the most challenging disaster scenarios, including when communication systems go down.

Photo: Fiji Red Cross Society

The tremendous support of the community members, particularly the families of the youth participants, has been instrumental in driving the success of the Y Adapt program in Navuevu.

The encouragement and backing received from within the village highlight the value placed on youth-led initiatives that aim to address local environmental challenges and contribute to community well-being.

“It is very heartening to see our youths, the future leaders of tomorrow, taking the lead in helping their very own communities with such initiatives," says Seru.

“The Y-Adapt Program stands as a beacon of hope and progress in the fight against climate change, demonstrating the power of youth empowerment and collective action in creating sustainable and resilient communities,” says Robin.

“For now, we will continue to plant our crops on higher grounds and another goal is to set up an evacuation centre for the village so that when it floods the next time, families are able to seek shelter at this centre.”

Text by Soneel Ram (IFRC) with editing by Rachel Punitha (IFRC) | Photos: Kurt Petersen (Petersen Fotography) and Fiji Red Cross Society.