That’s why since 2015, ActionAid has been supporting local ni-Vanuatu women to establish the Women I Tok Tok Tugeta (WITTT) network – a grassroots women’s movement advancing women’s rights, safety, and resilience in a country facing increasing climate and disaster impacts.
An unstoppable feminist movement
Over the past decade, WITTT has brought together diverse women from the islands of Efate, Erromango, Tanna, Malo, and Malekula to build their collective leadership, strengthen awareness of their human rights, and lead disaster preparedness and response activities – spaces from which women have traditionally been excluded. The network now has over 10,000 members, including more than 1,000 women with disabilities who make up WITTT Sunshine, the network’s disability chapter, established to address the additional discrimination faced by women with disabilities.
Through training on community-based protection, policy and advocacy, livelihood activities, and nature-based solutions to climate change, ActionAid has equipped ni-Vanuatu women who are part of WITTT with the skills and confidence to lead their communities and build resilience to crises.
Impact felt throughout the community
A decade of this work with WITTT has been transformative for local women and their communities. Over the past 10 years, when disasters have struck, WITTT members have used their disaster preparedness and response training to save lives, and help their families and communities recover.
From cyclones to earthquakes, women across the network have mobilised to ensure that the most vulnerable women – including women with disabilities, single mothers and widows – receive targeted support and have a say in the response and recovery efforts.
Evelyn David is a member of the WITTT Sunshine network in Vanuatu, leading disaster response for women with disabilities.
After a devastating earthquake hit Port Vila in December 2004, Evelyn David was quickly summoned to begin work with the WITTT response team. As a Community Mobiliser for WITTT Sunshine – WITTT’s disability chapter – she was part of a network that was tasked with assessing damage in the community, especially for widows and single mothers.
Evelyn walked door to door, collecting names, taking pictures of the destruction and reporting back the data to ActionAid to inform the emergency food distribution. “I was helping widows and single mothers, people who had lost so much,” she explained. “Some homes had cracks in the walls, outhouses had fallen, kitchens had collapsed — everywhere you looked, there was destruction.”
Transforming the role of women in Vanuatu
Through WITTT’s influence, women are also taking on significant leadership roles, which would previously have been unheard of. WITTT members who were previously excluded from decision-making are now advocates in local, national and global decision-making spaces.
On the island of Erromango, two women have been invited to join the Chief’s Council – a role traditionally reserved for men – because the Chief saw the women’s leadership during disasters, and recognised the value of their contribution to the community.
Leiwia is a WITTT Community Mobiliser on the island of Erromango, and the first ever woman elected to a Chief’s Council in Vanuatu.
Leiwia was the first woman elected to the Chief’s Council, leading the way for others in her community. “I have forged a pathway for other women,” she said. “I never dreamed of being part of this Council in my lifetime. Where I come from, women are not allowed to be in the same room with the male community leaders, it’s taboo. Our place is just outside the doorway, not inside the house. Our status as a female is being seen as a carer, mother, and a cook in the kitchen. We are not valued as a contributor in our community.”
“But through the training that ActionAid has provided, the Chiefs and the Council have now come to respect women’s leadership. They know we have the valid information and we are the first responders in our community before any external partners. My hope for the future is to promote the women to be the leaders in the country and in my community.”
In Lawital village on the island of Tanna, women who previously had never held a screwdriver are now leading their community’s energy transformation, installing solar lighting in every home in the village as well as a number of community spaces. Women are trained to install and maintain the solar systems, and the impact has been seen in improvements to women’s safety, children’s education, job opportunities and quality of life.
Annette is a WITTT Community Mobiliser in Lawital, who is trained to install and maintain off-grid solar systems throughout the community.
Annette is one of the women installing and maintaining the solar systems in Lawital, which she says has been transformational for her community. “After solar power was installed in our house, everything changed,” she said. “Now I can care for my child at night, weave baskets after dark, and stay connected to family. We have families overjoyed with their children’s progress in their education.”
“It has helped to change how men see women. Men now join in domestic work and realise the value of women’s leadership, which is a positive change for our community. I now visit households to install batteries and lights, collect fees, and input monthly access codes. That experience restarted my interest in education – I hope to return to school and work with wiring or become an electrician.”
A lasting legacy and a bright future
The WITTT federation was formally launched in the capital, Port Vila, in November 2024. This was a landmark moment marking the network’s transition from a supported program into a recognised, independent national body. Ten years on from its inception, WITTT is now working towards being a self-sufficient, self-governing federation. It is an enduring and flourishing Ni-Vanuatu women’s movement that is playing a vital role in advancing women’s rights and resilience to crises.