Victims urged to ignore rumors of "cash support"
The Government through the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) will not provide “cash support” to people affected by the recent flooding, but will provide materials and other tools to help people rebuild their homes and restart their livelihoods.
Chairman of the National Disaster Council, Dr Melchior Mataki made this clarification in response to unfortunate rumors circulating in evacuation centers this week regarding “cash support” for those who choose to remain in evacuation centres.
“We would like to be clear that these are very damaging rumors, and we do not want people to have false expectations,” Mr Mataki said.
“Any information regarding flood assistance should only be obtained from the NDMO and relevant officials. Please be wary of promises of cash support from any external parties and individuals,” Mr Mataki added.
Experience has shown that distributing cash is often not the best option, as cash can easily be abused. Humanitarian support which the NDMO is doing right now – is the most effective form of support and the best way to make sure people are getting the assistance they most need.
“We want to do what we can to help those who need it. Where possible, we will be providing assistance to people from their homes rather than the evacuation centres. This way we will be able to properly assess what is needed,” Mr Mataki said.
Meanwhile, the NDMO continues to encourage those who can to return to their homes, and work on rebuilding their homes and livelihood.
Return and rehabilitation is continually taking place across all evacuation centres and the NDMO and its partners are proud of those who have volunteered to leave these centres and resume their lives in their communities.
“It is everyone’s responsibility to continue working together to help the Solomon Islands, a country we can be proud to call home,” Mataki said.
“This is the time to rebuild, replant, reconstruct and move on with life. Together we can learn from this experience and do what we can to reduce the risk of a disaster of this scale happening again,” he added.