Tongan Tsunami Fundraiser

Hi there!

 

My name is Lou and, as most people in our community know, my family was affected by the Tongan volcanic eruption.

 

Background for those who are unaware...My mother Palakisa is Tongan born and my Dad Dave is an Aussie from this area of the south coast. Both relocated to Tonga a few years ago and built their home in Niutoua, Tongatapu, Tonga.

 

Mum has been displaced in Australia for two years due to covid and the hard lockdowns on the borders of Tonga. This has been an incredibly stressful time separated from her husband and home. Enter 2022 and the sudden eruption of the Tongan volcano and consequently, the tsunami rocked our whole family and the Tongan community. We lost contact with our family for an entire week, not knowing if they had survived or what damage had been done.

 

Many people have reached out to see how they can help, as my parents are both proud people, I have decided to run a go-fund-me to help assist mum in sending a crate of much-needed supplies.

 

One of the biggest issues faced was the destruction on our family's crops which sustain them throughout the year. with these crops gone, food is far more scarce. While they had food stored in a deep freezer, losing power for such a long time meant they lost everything that was stored there.

 

The farms will be rebuilt and the crops will be replanted eventually but this has been a huge blow.

 

We are hoping to raise enough money to ensure this doesn't happen again.

 

The money we raise will go towards the cost of freight and a generator that will allow for frozen foods to be kept regardless of loss of power.

 

Additionally, the crate will be filled with essential emergency equipment such as P2 masks, gloves, torches, first aid, non-perishable foods such as bags of rice, tinned goods, cereals, powdered milk, soap, sanitising tablets ect. With the country now open and facing covid, which they evaded for almost two years...we would like to send masks hand sanitiser for the community.

 

Many families close by lost a lot of clothing and shoes as they washed away or had extensive water damage. As Tonga is a very isolated island, clothes and shoes can be difficult to source. We will be sending clothing and shoes over to help replace some of what was lost in the crate.

 

Lastly, I'd like to get a satellite phone for Dave and Mum. This phone would not only benefit them and help them keep in touch regardless of loss of communication...it would be a huge asset to Niutoua as a community should anything like this happen again, the village will be able to reach their families all around the world and it would save a lot of heartache for so many people who feared the worst when communications were down.

 

Mum will try and do this on her own but, after the stress of this, I am hoping to relieve the financial pressure she faces.

 

We understand that we have all gone through many disasters over the last three years and so we greatly appreciate any amount of help regardless of the amount, if donating is not an option we appreciate you sharing this go fund me. Updates and photos of the box will be posted for those who want to see the progress.

 

We would like to thank Bobbins Transport who have already offered to transport this box free of charge to the docks.