These are much-needed evacuation houses when storms and cyclones ravage the island. They will also house a library, school room, health room, a local women's business and hygiene facilities. Fiji is hit by cyclones every single year and at the end of February 2016, Wainibuka was hit hard by the most powerful cyclone ever recorded in the southern hemisphere. Many lost their lives and the damage in Wainibuka was enormous. There is a great need for a safe place to shelter when the storms hit.
In 2021 it was estimated that 30 percent of adult Fijians live on less than NOK 24 a day.
in the area where the houses are built are farmers and live below the absolute poverty line.
FijiStiftelsen is a small, non-profit foundation. They are also non-bureaucratic as well as politically and religiously independent. Their focus lies within children, education and help for self-help – because it is the locals who best know their own reality. This means that the people are able to continue the projects on their own without being dependent on FijiStiftelsen.
The Norway Safe Houses project in Fiji is led by a local project manager, Lisa, and a local construction company, SSS Builders. They have committed to taking on local youth as trainees in the project so that they can get a foothold in working life and work experience. The evacuation houses will be completed in February 2024.