Akbar says the only answer is to build back stronger

We cannot allow our people, especially our children, to go through the hardship of building back up again and again, which is why we are investing in material and designs that will be resilient to Category 5 cyclones.

Those are the words of Minister for Education, Rosy Akbar who visited Lekutu Secondary School, Bua District School and Dama District School for groundbreaking ceremonies over the past few days.

The three schools in the Northern Division were badly damaged due to severe Cyclone Yasa and Cyclone Ana.

In each visit, Akbar emphasised the message that while we are in the process of recovery and rebuilding, we must ensure that we build back better and stronger.

The Education Minister states that with the increasing frequency and severity of cyclones, as a result of climate change, the need to build more resilient structures has never been more important.

She says the government was part of the first responders to visit sites that were severely damaged during the two recent tropical cyclones and it was heartbreaking to see the devastation that the cyclones had left in their wake, and how our people were suffering.

Akbar says we have to accept the fact that because of climate change, tropical cyclones will strike a lot harder and much more often, so we need to prepare accordingly.

She adds that apart from the financial cost that results from natural disasters, we must also consider the psychological and emotional impact that a natural disaster has.

Akbar says watching everything you own get destroyed in a matter of seconds is an indescribable feeling for us grown-ups, so imagine how our children must feel.

She says not only are their homes destroyed but their whole routine, including their ability to go to school and study in familiar surroundings, is completely gone.

The Minister says while we may not have direct control over the weather, what we can control is how we tackle it as a nation.

She says that is why they are doing whatever they can, as the government, to safeguard all Fijians, especially our most vulnerable ones.