THE Water Authority of Fiji has been reimbursed $15,000 from the NGO Act for Peace for the authority's provision of emergency water supplies during the March flood.
Act for Peace was provided funding by the Australian government's Aid Program (AusAID) to assist the authority in the provision of emergency water supplies during the floods.
The NGO is an international Humanitarian Arm of the National Council of Churches Australia.
Act for Peace regional manager Anthony Blake said the funds were a reimbursement of costs undertaken by the authority for provision of trucks and equipment for water cartage to evacuation centres, schools and hospitals.
The funds were also for fuel and maintenance to support the response and relief to the floods.
He said this was the first time such aid to WAF was given and it was made possible through donors who supplied funds to assist organisations working in flood relief. Mr Blake said the assistance was also timely given that Fiji was about to enter another disaster season.
"This funding is in a way offsetting to some degree the emergency work that was done but it's also timely in the fact that we were going towards the next disaster season.
"This funding that was provided will hopefully help the water authority towards the next event."
Mr Blake said Act for Peace was looking to work with WAF on a disaster logistics program where they would be able to look at how best to preposition resources to be better prepared for disasters. Authority CEO Opetaia Ravai said WAF appreciated the assistance.
"I'm sure the money that was donated today will go a long way in terms of us putting in place systems and buying equipment to prepare us for the next flood and the next disaster," he said.
"What Act for Peace did today will go a long way towards us preparing ourselves and making sure we are purchasing stuff now to put in place for the next disaster."