TWO basic facilities were missing from some homes when Vunidogoloa villagers in Cakaudrove were relocated in 2014, forcing the community to build their own kitchens and improve toilet facilities.
Village headman Apimeleki Qiliho said the relocation was part of a project by the former government to move the community away from rising sea levels and the impacts of climate change.
The project cost millions of dollars and was jointly funded by the FijiFirst government and the village’s own logging resources.
Mr Qiliho said villagers were grateful for the assistance, but some essential facilities were not included in the new homes.
“We had to build our own kitchens because the homes that were built did not have one,” he said.
He said some houses also lacked proper toilet facilities.
“We made history in January 2014 as the first village in Fiji to undergo a government-planned relocation because of rising sea levels. Seawater regularly reached people’s doorsteps,” he said.
“More than 130 villagers moved about two kilometres uphill to a new site they named Kenani, the new village site. There were no other options for us. We had to move,” he said.
Mr Qiliho said the experience highlighted the need to ensure basic household facilities were included in future relocation projects.
