Umbelina is a member of the local Suco (village) Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) in rural Viqueque in Timor-Leste.
In her community, steep slopes and tall trees surrounding the area have made the local villagers vulnerable to the effects of extreme weather events.
Amid this, Umbelina noticed that women and girls in her community are often severely impacted.
“Women in labour would suffer the most during rainy seasons. Road paths would be destroyed, and when women were due to give birth, it was difficult for the ambulance to reach our location to take them to a nearby health facility”, says Umbelina.
Umbelina’s opportunity to influence change came about when she joined the SDMC, formed and regularly convened with the support from the Disaster READY* project.
With her involvement in the project, she regularly participates in leadership training that boosts her confidence to advocate for meeting women and girls’ needs in municipal disaster preparedness and risk reduction initiatives.
Now that she is aware of the impact she has on her community, Umbelina is actively encouraging other women to participate in local decision making processes to accomplish one common goal; reducing the detrimental impact disasters have on women and girls.
*Disaster READY is supported by the Australian Government and has a focus on ensuring vulnerable groups are represented and heard in disaster preparedness, management, and risk reduction activities.
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