Tonga, along with the rest of our Pacific neighbours face grave difficulties not only due to the lift in sea levels, but also because of the increase in king tides, droughts, floods, cyclones, and other risks associated with our changing climate. Next to the Philippines, Tonga is recognised as the second most disaster-prone nation on the planet. This is because, along with the direct impact of climate change, its people must also contend with earthquakes, eruptions, and the threat of Tsunamis.

 

Earlier this year, our director, Tim Pratt was on Tongatapu during the tsunami warning that followed the earthquake off the Russian coast. Tim tells how sirens continued for over eight hours advising people to evacuate and move to higher ground. Of course, the real challenge on the Island is that high ground is in short supply. One evacuation point close to where he was staying is the New Zealand High Commissioner’s residence. Yet, if you look on a topographical map, the residence is both close to the coast, and on a hill that is only a few metres above sea level. Tim said his concern was that “a serious wave would have gone straight over the top of us all”. The morning after the wave’s threat had passed (without damage), he asked the host of the guest house where he was staying how she got on. Her reply – “Well we said our prayers and we went to sleep, what else could we do!” The level vulnerability was palpable.

 

Following our Christmas Appeal, CWS has been negotiating with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support the work of our colleagues in the Tonga Community Development Trust. It is this organisation that supports the work of Mrs Mafi and an army of other concerned volunteers across the islands of Tonga. The result is that we have entered a three-way collaboration where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs along with the CWS community work together to fund TCDC so they can facilitate a programme centered on building community resilience within in the face of ongoing natural disasters.

 

The programme is multifaceted and includes:

• Training in first aid and mental health
• Programmes to destigmatise mental health concerns
• Education on diversification of income streams for village families
• Teaching money management
• Teaching sales and marketing of goods and produce in local markets
• Horticultural education
• Programmes to enhance the livelihoods of Tongans
• Women’s Leadership

 

Effectively, for every dollar our community in CWS can raise, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will give another four dollars. In total, the project is budgeted to cost over NZ$500,000.00. Funds will go to supporting this innovative work of fostering resilience amongst our neighbours in Tonga, as they continue to battle a combination of both natural and man-made disasters, over which they have no control.

 

You can join us in supporting this ministry by donating here.