The Pacific Disability Forum as the umbrella organisation of Organisation of Persons with Disabilities is organizing essential items such as for persons with disabilities in Tonga who were affected by the recent volcanic eruption and tsunami.
The Forum in partnership with the Christian Blind Mission (CBM) New Zealand are working closely to purchase urgent needs include food, water and medical consumables. The relief supplies are expected to leave our secure our shores this weekend as part of the Fiji consignment led by the National Disaster Management Office.
It is during natural disasters that the vulnerability of persons with disabilities are further exacerbated. During the volcanic eruption, persons with disabilities and their family members fled to higher ground however many of the areas in which they fled to were not accessible. Many evacuation centers that they were taken to may not be fully accessible for them to be able to move around.
Assistive devices of persons with disabilities may have been damaged in the process of evacuation It is during times of natural disaster that the mobility devices of persons with disabilities are left behind as they flee for their lives. The question now is whether any of the persons with disabilities in Tonga can access this service.
Support services such as sighted guides, sign language interpretation or even sighted guides may not be available now to persons with disabilities in Tonga.
Persons with disabilities are discriminated upon especially when it comes to accessing food rations, relief supplies and services as well as other humanitarian aid when distribution point is not accessible, communication and information is not accessible as well. It is important to ensure that distribution point and information and communication is accessible to persons with disabilities.
It is important during period as the families and communities start to go back to normal with their lives with the support of partners, it is important and critical that response and recovery efforts and initiative accessible to persons with disabilities.
Should you have further queries, please do not hesitate to contact Paradise Tabucala on mobile: 8990134 or paradise.tabucala@pacificdisability.org
NOTE: As part of our targeted response with donors and stakeholders, we are asking that your organisation use these chosen hashtags in our marketing and promotion with regards to this Humanitarian efforts – #inclusiveresponse2022 #disabilityawareness #allforTonga #disabilitypartnership
