Over 1,000 families will benefit from an emergency response project launched on Monday to help them become more resilient during natural disasters.

Held at Malololelei, the village was furnished with a brand new warehouse containing equipment that can be used during natural disasters and supplies that could be distributed to families.

The WE RISE project by the United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) is a two-year initiative that will increase the climate resilience and water security of vulnerable and disaster-prone communities in the Republic of Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga, and the Independent State of Samoa.  

WE RISE will be implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS), in partnership with local organisations: Caritas Archdiocese of Suva, Caritas Tonga, and Caritas Samoa.

Head of the programme from Caritas Samoa, Karen Anaya said the WE RISE project represents a beacon of hope for communities across Samoa. 

"This includes expanding access to clean water, sanitation, and environmental resilience in collaboration with the Samoa Water Authority (S.W.A.)," she added.

"We are so proud to support their plan to provide clean water to the village of Samalaeulu and ensuring that basic needs are met even in the face of adversity.

"The project will allow us to enhance our support to the Disaster Management office, the primary agency for emergency response by strategically prepositioning more resilient supplies across the country.

"These supplies range from hygienic kits to shelter tool kits would benefit over 1,000 families but our efforts do not stop there."

The WE RISE project is also committed to building local capacity through community training programs at five villages in Upolu and four in Savaii by empowering local warehouse officers and equipping them with the necessary skills.

"We ensure that communities can take charge of their own emergency response thereby shortening response times and saving lives when every second counts," she said.

Some of the participants from Malololelei including the mayor, Tevaga Aleki Mataeliga will play a pivotal role in the project and will undergo a week-long training program to become warehouse officers responsible for managing the new warehouse

"We wish to convey our sincere thanks for this project which blessed us and our community with a warehouse full of emergency supplies," he said.

"Thank you so much for your continuous support for our community's development which contributes a lot to the development of Samoa.

"I will also use this opportunity to acknowledge the work of Caritas Samoa and we hope to continue working with you to address our community needs as well as building our community resilience."

The launch marks a significant step forward in our collective efforts to build more resilient communities and mitigate the impact of natural disasters in Samoa.

The short launch event was attended by the US Ambassador to Samoa, Tom Udall, and Charge d'affaires, Noriko Horiuchi, alongside representatives from S.W.A. and D..M.O.

The WE RISE Project aims to bolster disaster risk reduction efforts in our region through various critical initiatives, including expansion of water, sanitation, and environmental resilience, prepositioning of emergency supplies, implementation of warehouse management systems through community training; and Launching nationwide campaigns to raise awareness on WASH and disaster risk reduction.