Life after Cyclone Gita – The resilience of the Tongan people

Homes were razed, crops destroyed and livelihoods suffered long-term impacts.

But even amidst all the destruction and chaos caused by Mother Nature, there is still a willingness to smile, laugh, and keep going.

Most importantly, there is hope.

It has been more than three weeks since Cyclone Gita passed as a Category 4 storm. Attacked the island nation of Tonga; hit Tongatapu and the nearby island of Ewa. Other countries, including New Zealand, have begun offering assistance to the country in the form of donations, while aid charities are also on the ground helping to distribute food and much-needed supplies.

Back home, Members of the Tonga community in New Zealand They quickly rallied together to load containers with construction equipment, supplies and food donated by local companies who wanted to help.

Those who have been working locally over the past few weeks include nurse and midwife Donna Collins from Whangarei Hospital and Northland District Health Board.

Collins has been a humanitarian worker for the New Zealand Red Cross for many years. She first deployed overseas in 2014 to fight the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone.

This time, she was deployed to Tonga to assist the Tonga Red Cross Society’s health coordinator.

Speaking of The HeraldShe said the initial health education information provided to the public ignored emergency assistance and relief for local people.

“We distributed tents, kitchen sets and hygiene kits, which are needed first and foremost. We also distributed mosquito coils and mosquito nets, as there has been an outbreak of dengue fever in Tonga.”

Collins, who is based on the island of Tongatapu, said the extent of the damage was so severe that he estimated it would take months for people to rebuild not only their homes but their lives.

“The power lines were the biggest problem, there were power lines down everywhere.

“A lot of roofs were blown off, especially on schools. A lot of roofs were blown off. For some people, the whole house was blown off.”

One day, their team came across a family that had lost their home.

“The mother had just given birth to a little baby. She was sitting in the car with a one-week-old baby. The house was completely leveled.

“Dad and grandpa were building the frame, trying to put a roof on it – it was actually a small house, about 2 square metres, which would be their temporary home.

“They had basically lost everything. We gave them everything they needed and we gave them a tent because they really had nowhere else to stay that night.”

“The guys said, ‘Let’s put it up.’ We spent the next half hour putting up the tent for them – you’ve never seen such joy on people’s faces. It was one of those real feel-good moments.”

Volunteer aid workers continue to search for families in need.

Food is delivered to the village every day, along with hygiene kits (filled with towels, soap, toothpaste and toilet paper) and kitchen sets (with the basic utensils for cooking): two saucepans, a frying pan, a wooden spoon and mixing bowls.

As many as 9,000 beneficiaries – individuals or families – have received help from the Red Cross.

Collins said many of the volunteers she works with have lost everything or have had their homes severely damaged or destroyed.

“You have to realize how generous these people are.”

She said there were still many areas in the centre of Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga, that needed repair.

“Walking around town on Saturday, there were still a lot of broken windows. But there was a lot of noise from people going about – you could hear drills, saws and things like that.”

She said her lasting memory of Tonga is laughter.

“No matter what the situation is, no matter how bad people’s circumstances seem, they still smile. I think that speaks to the resilience of the Tongan people.”