Cheri Dean, Nathan Wichman, & Regina Stoltzfus

Fiji Red Cross Society

22 Gorrie Street
PO Box 569
Suva, Fiji

April 14, 2016

Edmund J. Cain
Vice President, Grant Programs
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
30440 Agoura Road
Agoura Hills, CA 91301

Dear Mr. Cain:

Enclosed is our proposal submission for the Fiji Red Cross Society’s (FRCS) Building Disaster Resilient
Communities in Fiji project. Our society strives to enhance the disaster resiliency of all Fijian
communities through a hands-on and interactive instruction method. While many of our projects are
funded through our own society’s donations, we are seeking additional, one-time funding of $300,000 for
this project in order to enhance the survivability of all Fijian communities in a timely manner.

As Tropical Cyclone Winston recently demonstrated, the nation of Fiji is at particularly high risk for
natural disasters, and the current response methods are insufficient in many instances. Some community
members have to wait days for any type of medical assistance following a disaster. Through our project,
we aim to empower the people with the skills and knowledge necessary to support each other before
additional medical assistance arrives.

We seek to build resilient communities by training them in disaster preparedness and basic emergency
response. Disaster preparedness training will assist community members in identifying and planning for
any potential emergency which may occur. Additionally, we plan to have these same community
members train in basic emergency response - a 48-hour first responder course – which will allow the
injured and trapped to be assisted and protected until further help arrives. Pre-staged equipment will
allow community members to help themselves, strengthen community resilience, and ensure an effective
response to the impact of any hazard.

We would like to thank you for your consideration of our proposal. Please do not hesitate to contact us at
(679) 331-4133 if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Cathy Wong Filipe Nainoca

National President Director General
Fiji Red Cross Society Fiji Red Cross Society

Enc: Original proposal and two copies

Cheri Dean, Nathan Wichman, & Regina Stoltzfus

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In order to mitigate the loss of life and devastation as a result of extreme weather hazards, the
Fiji Red Cross Society (FRCS) seeks to build resilient communities by training local citizens in
disaster preparedness and basic emergency response. Disaster preparedness training will assist
vulnerable community members in formulating a plan for any potential emergency to minimize
the damage of a natural disaster. Converting these same community members to first responders
by training them in basic emergency response, will enable the injured and trapped to be rescued
and protected until further help arrives. Pre-staged equipment will allow community members to
help themselves, strengthen community resilience, and empower citizens to act with a sense of
urgency resulting in effective response to any hazard.

The projects main goal is to increase community resiliency by developing the capability and
capacity for the community population to mitigate the stress of disasters. The first objective is to
certify and train two additional Fiji citizens as instructors in disaster preparedness. Training two
additional instructors will enable structured disaster preparedness courses to train the masses in
disaster preparedness and build a community team to battle extreme hazards to protect life and
property. The gained knowledge and a prepared action plan will mitigate the stress of a disaster.
The second objective is to train the same two instructors in First Response in order to construct a
48-hour First Responder Course to educate members of community based emergency response
teams. Additionally, a First Responder course will enable the citizens to immediately rescue,
save lives, and mitigate loss of life. Bolstering self-sufficient communities with a trained team
of first responders will improve preparedness, and create secure and empowered citizens.

These objectives will be accomplished by securing instructor training for two Disaster
Preparedness and First Responder trainers through the FRCS National Office. Tasks to be
completed include train the trainers, advertise courses to the community, post flyers, secure
classroom space, prepare handouts and training aids, order text books and teaching manuals,
deploy equipment resources to specific sites, and generate teaching aids for curriculum
development.

The purpose of this proposal is to build a roadmap to achieve resilience for the Fiji community
for the next hazardous event and empower an underdeveloped community into an enduring
whole community approach. Synchronized and structured training in Disaster Preparedness and
First Response will build and sustain a precision local strategy for today, sustainable for the next
generation and beyond, and will attain a trained capable community ready for any hazard. This
new Emergency Management business model will become an innovative small investment with
great return on investment to be coveted by small and large communities.

Our methodology will employ a twofold synchronized and structured method utilizing the whole
community approach with oversight from the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Society.
Coordination will occur between the FRCS and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent
Society to attain a list of international volunteers, based in Suva Fiji, that are trained in
emergency response and disaster preparedness. A minimum of twelve international volunteers
will be secured from the list to act as, instructor aides. The course instruction will provide an
overview of instruction, learning objectives, task analysis, evaluations and a survey at the end.
Cheri Dean, Nathan Wichman, & Regina Stoltzfus

Students will perform practical exercises that require task performance. Evaluations will occur
at the end. Participants will gain the knowledge and skillsets to save lives and protect property.

Having proper response equipment in place will allow communities to safely rescue any injured
community members and survive until further emergency assistance can arrive. Having reserve
materials in place or prepositioned stock is convenient and sets up the community for rapid
response. Rescue equipment would be strategically prepositioned throughout the communities
for easy access and utilization.

The funds gained would cover the first year of the program requirements and provide time for
the FRCS to conduct a community appeal for future program funding. Future program funding
would cover annual refresher training, new response team member training, and the replacement
of equipment as it ages.

Tropical Cyclone Winston demonstrated that the traditional methods upon which the country of
Fiji deals with disasters is inadequate and that assistance is required to meet the needs of those
made vulnerable during disasters. The FRCS hopes to resolve this problem by training Fiji
citizens in disaster preparedness and first response. Through this training the community will
gain the skillsets to act with a sense of urgency to a prepared plan thus achieving resilience.
Knowledge gained from this new capability will enhance ongoing preparedness. A new
foundation framework will be established to teach the next generation to build resilience in the
community. Our ability to accomplish these outcomes will assist community members in
identifying and planning for any potential emergency which may occur.

After a term of one year 600 to 700 Fiji citizens will be trained in disaster preparedness and first
response which will enable the creation of response teams and allow communities to mitigate the
stress of extreme weather disasters. The plan is to teach courses Monday, Wednesday and
Friday from 5 to 9pm (some villages will be 6 to 10pm) and on Saturdays from 8am to 5pm.
These times were created after holding several community meetings. New training will be
conducted twice a year with a goal to increase the number of trained citizens by a minimum of
100 per year. A refresher course will be offered in each trained community on an annual basis
and semi-annual drills will be conducted to allow ongoing practice and maintenance of skills.
After action reports will occur after each training course to capture lessons learned. Monthly
meetings will be conducted with each community team and special guest lecturers will offer
further knowledge or training related to disaster preparedness and community resiliency.

The FRCS falls under the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Society - the world’s largest
humanitarian organization. Established in 1954 under the British Red Cross, the FRCS is no
stranger to storm preparation or humanitarian advocacy. A disaster response and management
team is prepared to respond 24/7 and meet emergent needs. Other robust programs consist of
sexual assault advocacy, community safety, youth instruction, health, and humanitarian law.
Training offered in the community consists of First Aid, CPR, Water Safety/First Aid, and
disease prevention. Joining in a partnership with an American trained instructor trainer we will
be working to get all current and new FRCS instructors up to speed to teach the new Disaster
Preparedness and Emergency Response course. When courses roll out in May 2016 the FRCS
will take our invaluable disaster response experience coupled with our knowledgeable instructors
Cheri Dean, Nathan Wichman, & Regina Stoltzfus

and set to change the disaster survivability of Fiji citizens forever. Our capability to achieve this
outcome stems from the experience that the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Society
volunteers have gained with similar programs in other isolated communities and countries
around the world. Our capability to complete this outcome also stems from our annual training
of FRCS disaster volunteers and other international volunteers in disaster preparedness and
emergency response.

The robust framework established, resulting from the community approach, will allow enhanced
organizational structure and resiliency to be achieved through lessons learned from the last event
thus creating a best practice. The vision of the organization is to promote humanitarian
activities, alleviate human suffering, and advocate for human dignity and worldwide peace. The
organization’s mission is to build safe resilient communities, and empower their volunteers to
provide humanitarian aid. Finally, we will coordinate closely with all stakeholders to ensure
complete program success for the Fiji community.

Optimized performance of new skillsets gained in the community will endure social long-lasting
capability that enable one person to pass it on to the next person, one community to pass it on to
the next community, and one generation to the next. Parents who learn these skillsets will most
likely pass it on to their children. Enhanced coping mechanisms will naturally occur as a result.
A better prepared community will diminish the stress that people endure thinking about survival
and loss.

Funds will need to be secured to ensure refresher courses can occur from one year to the next.
Consistency of refresher courses will motivate the community to attain their certificates.
Providing Disaster Training refresher courses that help people protect themselves is the ultimate
empowerment of a community. Abled bodies will help their neighbors in a robust manner.
Enhancing disaster readiness is the ultimate key for vulnerable communities.

The first outcome is to proficiently train two Fiji volunteers so they may train 600 to 700
community residents in Disaster Preparedness in the first year. Attaining this goal will build the
benchmark for Fiji and all other vulnerable communities. Fiji Islanders will be empowered to
save lives and property in their own communities. More evacuations will most likely occur due
to learned risk factors. The second outcome will be similar to the first, except the training will
be in First Response. More individuals will be saved due to community member rapid response
to save persons from direct hazards. First Responder equipment will be available and
prepositioned strategically for easy access which may save lives.

Finally, the financial assistance that you provide to the vulnerable Fiji community will have a
two-fold return on investment and will become the benchmark for all vulnerable communities.
Brochures, news articles, and advertisements will help us disseminate the information to help our
project succeed. Thank in advance for all of your support.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

After Tropical Cyclone Winston it is clear that the traditional methods upon which the country of
Fiji deals with disasters is inadequate and that assistance is required to meet the needs of those
Cheri Dean, Nathan Wichman, & Regina Stoltzfus

made vulnerable during disasters. The Fiji Red Cross Society must step up and find innovative
solutions to these challenges. We must work towards building resilient communities. This
means helping communities be better prepared, more adaptable, more responsive, more
empowered and secure.

The Fiji Red Cross Society seeks to build resilient communities by training them in disaster
preparedness and basic emergency response. Training community members in disaster
preparedness will assist them in identifying and planning for any potential emergency which may
occur in the community. Taking these same community members and training them in basic
emergency response will allow the injured and trapped to be rescued and protected until further
help arrives. Pre-staged equipment will allow community members to help themselves,
strengthen community resilience and ensure an effective response to the impact of any hazard.

The national office of the Fiji Red Cross Society sets aside $107,000 per year for community
based training and works with an annual budget in excess of 3 million per year. Last fiscal year
$1,813,164 was spent on disaster response. In order to increase community resiliency we are
asking for a one-time grant of $300,000 to train two additional disaster preparedness instructors,
to train community members in disaster preparedness, to train community members in basic
emergency response, and to purchase and distribute disaster response supplies to the
communities upon completion of training. The funds would be distributed to each of our 15
branches who would then utilize funds for training and purchase supplies to distribute to trained
communities. Having proper response equipment in place will allow communities to safely
rescue any injured community members and survive until further emergency response can arrive.

SOLUTION

Goal 1: Train community members in disaster and emergency response (first responder training)
to reduce the time it takes for community members to receive assistance post disaster and to
increase community resiliency.

Objectives Tasks: Begin/End Date Outcomes

A. Conduct A-1: Visit communities Begin immediately Community
community enrollment to advertise availability and complete no enrollment appeal
appeal of course and handout later than April 19, will produce course
brochure which will 2016. enrollment of 30 or
explain course in more more community
detail and include a mail- members per
in enrollment form. approached village.
The number of
A-2: Post flyer/brochure village members
in community center for enrolled will
each community. determine the
number of
A-3: Speak with representatives on
community members not the nationwide
interested in the course to training and
Cheri Dean, Nathan Wichman, & Regina Stoltzfus

volunteer as injured planning

victims. committee.

A-4: Provide each

community member with
contact information if
they have questions
about courses.
B. Schedule the course B-1: Make a master April 19 - 25, 2016 A detailed copy of
within each schedule of all courses the course schedule
community. for each community. will be mailed to all
enrolled course
B-2: Reserve space in the participants and
community for the course two large posters
to be conducted. listing the course
dates will be mailed
B-3: Notify all course to the designated
participants of scheduled village leader to be
course dates. posted in the
community.
C. Secure textbooks to C-1: Have the FRCS Immediately Textbooks will be
teach two courses Logistics Officer order obtained for a ratio
simultaneously. 100 of the Emergency of one book to two
Medical Response course participants
textbooks from the minimum so that all
American Red Cross community
book store. members have
sufficient time for
review of
coursework and
practice with the
course scenarios.
D. Gather necessary D-1: Copy and print April 20 - 30, 2016 Copies of handouts
handouts and necessary handouts from and instructional
instruction material. the course workbook for supplements will be
each class. prepared so that
each member of the
course has an
individual copy to
allow sufficient
time for review and
practice of
coursework.
E. Gather necessary E-1: Reserve the April 19 - 25, 2016 Sufficient
equipment to instruct necessary equipment to equipment will be
community members. teach each course with reserved to allow
Cheri Dean, Nathan Wichman, & Regina Stoltzfus
the FRCS Logistics
Officer.
F. Recruit 12 F-1: Contact the April 19 - 27, 2016 A minimum of 12
international International Red Cross
volunteers previously and Red Crescent Society
trained as First office in Suva, Fiji and
Responders to be request a list of
teaching assistants. international volunteers,
based in Suva Fiji,
trained in emergency
response.
F-2: Contact volunteers
trained as first responders
to solicit assistance with
course.
F-3: Schedule the
available volunteers to
act as teaching assistants.
G. Secure community G-1: Contact the
members to act as community members
injured victims for on who volunteered to act as
hands training and victims to verify they are
skills assessment. available to attend during
course dates designated
as scenario practice days.
H. Monitor course H-1: Have students sign
enrollment numbers, in at each session and
student keep a master list of
practice groups not
to exceed a size of
four participants.
international
volunteers, trained
as first responders,
will be secured to
allow a ratio of one
trained responder
per each group of
four students during
on hands practice.
April 20 - 26, 2016 1. Schedule a
minimum of 20
community
volunteers to attend
each session with
any type of practice
requirements.
2. Having 20 or
more volunteer
victims will allow
class participants to
progressively build
upon skills and
increase proficiency
so that when a
disaster does occur
community team
members will be
able to rescue
injured and trapped
individuals.
Ongoing process 1. Monitoring the
during each course number of students
taught. Courses enrolled will
Cheri Dean, Nathan Wichman, & Regina Stoltzfus

comprehension, enrollment for each team. will begin in May establish whether or
student skills of 2016 and end in not the project goal
application and H-2: Assess student April 2017. is on track or if
proficiency, ongoing comprehension of further community
attendance and material through the use engagement, to
participation, and of pretests and posttests increase
equipment purchased. for each session enrollment, needs
conducted. to occur.

H-3: Assess student skills 2. Pretesting, post-

application and testing, and skills
proficiency through the assessment will
use of a step-by-step allow instructors to
skills check off list and evaluate if material
monitoring by a certified is being properly
first responder. presented and
understood.
H-4: Track ongoing Teaching methods
attendance and will be altered to
participation with a daily allow better
sign in log to keep track comprehension of
of participants and who material if
needs to make up course necessary.
time.
3. Monitoring
H-5: Track equipment whether or not
purchased for each students are in
community based team to attendance and
make sure that equipment participate will
dispersed to teams is allow instructors
standard and to keep and training
track of when equipment assistants to
needs to be replaced. accommodate
student needs for
additional one-on-
one training and to
adapt for the
different education
levels of citizens.

4. Keeping track of
equipment
purchased
establishes the
minimal equipment
and safety
Cheri Dean, Nathan Wichman, & Regina Stoltzfus

requirements for
each team to
successfully
function.

5. Keeping track of
equipment
purchased allows a
replacement cycle
to be established for
all equipment.
I. Generate Reports I-1: Produce report for Begin Reports will
each community visited – immediately. provide information
how many individuals Reports will be to be used in letter
contacted, how many generated no later sent to Hilton
households contacted, than May 1, 2016. foundation, and for
number signed, number oral presentation.
unsigned

I-2: Report on all

community common
locations where course
information posted.

I-3: For community

members, who did not
sign up during the
community enrollment
appeal, ask them to be
volunteers. Track the
number and get their
names and contact info.

I-4: Report on number of

volunteers signed up.

I-5: Report on number of

volunteers who attend
teaching sessions and
compare to response
numbers generated
during the initial
community enrollment
appeal.

Goal 2: Distribute necessary emergency response equipment to trained communities.

Cheri Dean, Nathan Wichman, & Regina Stoltzfus

Objectives Tasks: Begin/End Date Outcomes

A. Purchase the A-1: Provide a list of Send list to All emergency
necessary equipment items to purchase to Logistics Office rescue equipment
for each community National Logistics after course dates will be purchased to
based trained team. Officer. have been support 20
established and community based
confirmed. teams and will be
sent to the Regional
A-2: Have National Purchase should Division Offices for
Logistics Officer occur no later than distribution to the
purchase necessary items the second week of teams during the first
and notify Regional class. week of class.
Division Offices when
items are ready for
distribution.
B. Distribute B-1: Have the Regional As soon as All equipment will
equipment to the Division Office establish Logistics office be dispersed to
trained community teams to deliver notifies that community based
based teams for field equipment to each equipment has teams during the first
use. trained community. been ordered. week of class so that
hands on experience
B-2: Disperse equipment Disperse can be gained to
equipment as soon master rescue
as community proficiency.
teams have been
formed (should be
early May 2016).
C. Generate report C-1: Keep a count of Begin Report will provide
type of equipment immediately. information to be
delivered and address Generate report no used in letter sent to
where delivered. later than June 1, Hilton foundation,
2016. and for oral
presentation.

EVALUATION

The Fijian Islands are at a particularly high risk for natural disasters. The current emergency
response system is insufficient during times of a disaster which leaves many citizens waiting
from days to almost a week for any type of rescue and medical assistance. The overall goal and
focus of the Building Disaster Resilient Communities in Fiji project is to train 600 to 700 Fiji
residents in Disaster Preparedness and First Response, in the first year, to increase community
resiliency and to empower Fiji citizen to save lives and property in their own communities.
More individuals will be saved due to community rapid response teams. Rescue equipment will
be strategically positioned to allow ease of access which in the long run will ultimately save
lives.
Cheri Dean, Nathan Wichman, & Regina Stoltzfus

Project monitoring will begin at the instructor level and filter up to the FRCS Regional Instructor
Coordinator. The elements in the project that will be routinely monitored include course
enrollment numbers, student comprehension and skills application, and ongoing attendance and
participation. Data being collected includes: citizen proficiency to follow a step-by-step skills
process for application of on hands skills, provided a scenario; evaluation of scores attained on
pretests and posttests for each session conducted; and the cost of all equipment being purchased
for emergency response. Pretests will be completed before course lecture begins. Posttests will
be completed at the end of each session. The pretest and posttest are the same and will be used
as a gauge to determine if any pre-meeting preparation occurred and to gauge how much was
learned during the training. A daily sign in log will be used to keep track of participants and who
needs to make up course time. All on-hands skills will be evaluated through the use of a step-by-
step skills check off list. Assessing the capability to perform each step of a skill will provide
instructors with information regarding which students need additional practice time and extra
assistance. All bills for purchase of equipment will be accounted for and included in the final
financial report to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

Singular project results to disseminate include the numbers of students completing the course
within each community, the number of communities trained, the number of teams created, and
the equipment bought for each community to be used for emergency response. Combined
project results to disseminate include overall totals for the number of citizen trained, the overall
number of teams created, the overall amount of equipment distributed to each trained
community, and how the overall grant was spent. Reports summarizing the singular project
results will be sent in letter form as each course is completed. Reports addressing the combined
results will be sent in letter form at the end of the initial training program. All written reports
will be sent to Edmund J. Cain, at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Upon completion of the
initial training program an oral presentation will be provided to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
Board which will address the program from conception to one year completion.

Financial sustainability will be achieved through continuous community based funding and from
individual sponsors once the grant funds from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation are exhausted.
FRCS hopes to use these other funding sources, once the program reaches the one year mark, to
expand the program to benefit larger communities and villages that are more main stream with
society. Social sustainability will be achieved through the citizens and communities
participating in the training. After the initial training citizens and communities will receive
ongoing training and support to both maintain and increase response capabilities. Elders and
parental figures, in the communities, will teach the children how to cope with and effectively
respond to any type of emergency.