A home is more than four walls and a roof: homes also mean safety and stability for families. Floods and cyclones can destroy this sense of peace and security.

Sepeca lives with his wife, 2 young daughters and mother in Nawaca village, in the province of Bua, located on Fiji’s second largest island Vanua Levu. After becoming unemployed and losing his house and farm to Tropical Cyclone Yasa, Sepeca Ura and his family were on the verge of losing hope.

“My family and I were living in the evacuation center for 2 weeks after our house was destroyed. I was lost.”

Habitat for Humanity Fiji works to address barriers and build resilience and security in local communities. Sepeca attended Habitat for Humanity Fiji’s Build Back Safer training and was inspired. He worked with our team of local carpenters and together they constructed a new saferoom for his family that could withstand future disasters.

Our community training programs help homeowners achieve the strength and dignity they need to create opportunities for themselves and their families.

“Your organization did not only upskill us in carpentry, but you also provided [me with] two houses. It would have taken me years to get what I have now.” shared Sepeca Ura.

Sepeca has since extended the saferoom and he has begun using his new skills and knowledge from our training to make it more accessible for his mother whose mobility is affected by a stroke.

The impacts haven’t stopped with Sepeca and his family. They have become resilience role models in their village. His family have been offering support, direction and hope for others who are going through similar difficulties.

Did you know one out of three homeowners in Fiji are living near to or below the poverty line? And during disasters this makes it much harder for families to recover from the effects of a cyclone or flood.

By supporting our work, you can help families like Sepeca’s who are in need of decent, affordable and resilient housing.