Shaping Communications
When disaster strikes in Vanuatu, communities often look for answers in the chaos of uncertainty. For Frida, Communications and Community Engagement Specialist, ensuring that communities are informed, included, and heard has been the driving force of her career.
For the past decade, Frida’s work is grounded in a deep understanding of Vanuatu’s culture, customs, and resilience, and today she supports Vanuatu’s earthquake recovery through her deployment to the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning (DUAP).
‘I joined this deployment at the [Vanuatu] government’s request for a communications person to support the Department of Strategic Policy, Planning and Aid Coordination (DSSPAC) with the post-earthquake recovery,’ said Frida. ‘But then the recovery transitioned into early planning and reconstruction…and so I now sit within the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning (DUAP) to support on the Port Vila CBD development process, while continuing to help DSPPAC build a robust communications, community-engagement, and AAP system for broader recovery.’
Supporting Communities in Disasters
Frida started her journey working in disaster response in 2018 during the Ambae Volcano response. That year, the Government of Vanuatu evacuated the entire island population of Ambae – around 12,000 people – to the neighbouring island of Maewo in Penama Province.
‘For me, it was a new sector. But I was excited,’ said Frida. ‘I was taken in as a Communications and Community Engagement Specialist to build visibility on the government’s second home approach, working mainly with people who were evacuated and the host communities [in Maewo].’
Frida is originally from Pentecost Island, which is the third island within Penama Province (Ambae, Maewo and Pentecost). ‘These are islands from within my province,’ said Frida. ‘Our customs are quite familiar, and I was related to people and familiar with people at the Penama Provincial Government.’
Frida’s shared cultural background and familiarity ensured she was able to craft culturally appropriate communications with the communities she was serving. ‘We had a great team on the ground, and I tried my best to learn and see what others were doing.’
This opened the door to new opportunities supporting Vanuatu’s disaster response and recovery, where she has supported the Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) as a community engagement and communications specialist on major disaster responses, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and Tropical Cyclone Harold disasters (2021), Tropical Cyclones Judy and Kevin (2023), Tropical Cyclones Lola (2023), and the recent Vanuatu earthquake (2024).
Elevating Voices
When the Vanuatu earthquake devastated parts of Vanuatu, the Vanuatu Government worked hard to put forward their vision in rebuilding Port Vila’s Central Business District (CBD). ‘Government is looking at re-building Port Vila CBD into a more resilient, more inclusive design,’ said Frida. ‘We’re looking at the pedestrianisation of the main common highway street, that we’re not building on fault lines, and that there are more green spaces.’
Frida’s deployment is focused on ensuring community voices help shape and inform the government’s vision. A fundamental piece of work for Frida was designing and rolling out a national survey, promoted through mobile networks and SMS messages across the islands of Vanuatu. ‘We asked direct questions, shared the CBD Concept Plan and asked people to say whether they agreed or disagreed with it, and if they had any other feedback,’ said Frida.
Frida’s efforts also went beyond the national survey, where she set up and operated a free hotline using her own phone and sim cards. ‘In Vanuatu, around 80% live in the rural areas and we have low literacy rates… I just felt like we needed to provide that option to the public, especially those who aren’t on the Internet,’ said Frida.
The hotline was active for 1 week and from 6am-6pm every day, where Frida personally answered phone calls from all over Vanuatu. ‘It was mainly people calling in, and there was me explaining that the government is working on a concept to re-build the CBD’. She also supported the rolling out of social media posts, videos and billboards to promote the CBD Concept Plan and encourage communities to share their perspectives with the CBD Concept Plan being formally launched during Vanuatu’s Independence Week in July 2025. ‘In the end, we had over 85% of respondents who agreed with the CBD Concept Plan,’ said Frida.
‘In Vanuatu, around 80% live in the rural areas and we have low literacy rates… I just felt like we needed to provide that option to the public, especially those who aren’t on the Internet.'
Charting a new path
Frida has supported countless communities across Vanuatu in the past 10-years that she has worked in this space. She fundamentally believes that community voices must be at the heart of inclusive and sustainable disaster recovery.
‘For me, it’s always about respecting the leadership in the area – whether national, provincial, or community level,’ said Frida. This is especially important, where the Vanuatu Government works closely with communities affected by disasters. ‘It shouldn’t be about government making decisions and implementing them… The two-way communication is important.’
Looking ahead, Frida sees disaster recovery as a living system – learning from the past while strengthening the institutions that carry recovery forward. As the rebuilding process continues, Frida continues to advocate for the inclusion of community voices through her emerging work in shaping feedback mechanisms and community engagement processes within Vanuatu’s national recovery framework. Through this work, she is helping Vanuatu chart a new path for recovery and rebuilding – a path of inclusion and resilience, rooted in the voices of its own people.
Disclaimer: The information and views published here are the individual’s own and do not necessarily represent the partner organisation, Australia Assists or the Australian Government’s views, positions or opinions.