Kapiolani was delighted with her chicken house and the training she received. A total of 50 chicken houses were distributed to families in nine villages. by Tonga Community Development Trust

Restoring Communities after Tonga Eruption

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Late last year, Tonga Community Development Trust delivered the first 50 chicken houses to families in nine villages. More are planned as part of a strategy that has proved effective after previous natural disasters.

Kapiolani was delighted with her chicken house and the training she received. A staff member from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forests showed the group how to care for the chickens and increase productivity.

After Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai erupted in January 2022, Kapiloani could not earn the income she needed from weaving fans.

As an active member of the women’s network, Amatakiloa a Fafine, Kapiolani had already found great benefit from the Trust’s gardening programme and group support.

“Our pele (a type of cabbage) leaves did not grow well until we added the healthy soil from the compost. Then it started to grow more and taller,” she says.

Thanks to the group sessions and the plants she received Kapiloani could grow more of the food her family needed and have more time for her daughter with special needs. She planted banana and breadfruit trees, pele, and vegetables as well as some flowers.

In the aftermath of the eruption, the Trust has focused on helping communities recover from the massive disaster that affected much of the country. It distributed topsoil to 150 households in low lying areas with poor soil as well as delivering six different types of vegetable seedlings and eight different types of trees to 200 households. Food security, water safety and mental well-being are the Trust’s current priorities. It is running workshops to help communities prepare for future disasters and adapt to climate change.

CWS is grateful for donations to the Tonga Emergency Appeal, Gifted and the Methodist Women’s Fellowship that funded this assistance.

Kapiolani featured in the 2023 Christmas Appeal, Share Food this Christmas. Christian World Service is grateful for donations to help families improve food security and adapt to the changes caused by the warming climate. Donations can be made online or by phone at 0800 74 73 72.