Furniture for Schools in Vava'u - Pangiamotu GPS

Young Men from Neiafu Stake unpacked the containers, loaded onto 3 big trucks, and delivered them to the Fangatonga and Pangiamotu GPS schools. They were all stacked nicely for the beginning of the handover ceremony.

Chairs to the right were replaced with the Furniture for Schools.






Classrooms were emptied of the old desks and chairs. The walls were freshened and had new teaching aids hung. The PTA put in new tile.







Minister of Health Honorable Dr Saia Piukala told the students that he had gone to school here in Pangiamotu. He became a surgeon, then a member of parliament. He encouraged them to study hard and learn. He told them they can become what they want. He told them don't let anyone tell you you can't.

Minister Piukala thanked LDS Charities, stating that a clean environment and nice chairs and desks encourage better learning. The students will be more willing to learn. They will succeed.


 Let the party begin! 

         
The students danced for us. Then the teachers, members of PTA, and town officer.

Girls outfits

This lady was Minister Piukala's first teacher.
The man dancing is the town officer.

The community really showed their appreciation for the donated furniture.

Furniture for Schools in Vava'u - Fangatonga GPS

Elder Thomson reporting 

Furniture for Schools is an organization in New Zealand. The used furniture used to be thrown away when remodeling took place in New Zealand schools. Then Callum Blair had the vision to save that furniture and send it to the needy schools in the Pacific. LDS Charities is partnered with Furniture for Schools.

The furniture is put in containers and shipped to the islands. LDS Charities pays for the shipping, import fees, and we do the distribution.

The children in Tonga often sit on the floor for the classes or have really old benches. The floors and paint often are peeling. It is up to the parents to update the classrooms...or to get aid. LDS Charities has received more than 50 containers in the last 2 years since Furniture for Schools began.

With a better classroom environment, it is hoped the children will learn to love learning, and will continue to learn throughout their lives. They are the future of Tonga.

Students moved the furniture to class

Students checking out the new desks and chair

Students ready with their new desks and chairs

Dressed for the dancing

Boys resting after carrying furniture to class

Thumbs Up!

Cream Puffs with Sister Oldroyd

Sister Oldroyd makes the most wonderful cream puffs. She made over 180 for the mission Christmas party this past year. We senior missionary sisters wanted to learn how to make these cream puffs before she goes home in about 4 weeks.



Yesterday Sister Oldroyd invited us to come to her kitchen for a demonstration on how to make her cream puffs. We each got to take home samples - one for our spouses too.

When I get home, I hope mine will turn out as good as Sister Oldroyd's cream puffs.
 

Sisters Heiner, Oldroyd, Zemp, Murdoch, Busby, Thomson, Fisher, Hudson

Forget Me Not Project Handover and Delivery

We held the handover for the Forget Me Not project this week. 

 Semisi Finau (biomedical engineer), Faka'osilea Kaufusi (LDS Welfare country manager), Dr Siale 'Akauola (CEO), Sister and Elder Thomson, Dr Sa'ale Lemisio (Senior Medical Officer), Dr Lisiate Ulufonua (Medical Superintendant)), Fusi Kaho (senior nurse)

Sample of equipment donated by LDS Charities

Report of Forget Me Not Project

Shortly after we arrived in Tonga we came across a file titled “Forget Me Not” submitted by Semisi Finau, biomedical engineer.  We loved the project! We called Semisi and begun the process to write a project. 

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death in Tonga, according to the World Health Organization. The Minstry of Health (MOH) has stressed the importance and impact of Universal Health Coverage. The idea is to ensure that minimal health care standards are available and accessible to all people regardless of where they live, so that no one is left behind. 

In coming up with a title for this project, Semisi thought of an exert from a talk given in General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in October 2011 by President Dieter F. Uchdorf as follows.



"A while ago I was walking through a beautiful garden with my wife and daughter. I marveled at the glory and beauty of God's creation. And then I noticed, among all the glorious blooms, the tiniest flower. I knew the name of this flower because since I was a child I have had a tender connection to it. The flower is called forget-me-not. I'm not exactly sure why this tiny flower has meant so much to me over the years. It does not attract immediate attention; it is easy to overlook among larger and more vibrant flowers; yet it is just as beautiful, with its rich color that mirrors that of the bluest skies -- perhaps this is one reason why I like it so much. And then there is the haunting plea of its name. There is a German legend that just as God finished naming all the plants, one was left unnamed. A tiny voice spoke out, "Forget me not, O Lord!" And God replied that this would be its name."   


This story fit the purpose of the project. Forget me Not was chosen as the project title because we aim to forget not the people of the outer islands.

The Forget Me Not Project will allow the people all over Tonga to have better access to treatment. Currently there are 14 health centers and 34 reproductive and health clinics across Tonga. Some of these health centers are far away and very isolated. The Forget Me Not project equipment will assist the doctors, health officers, and nurses for better management and treatment of diabetes and other NCDs in these areas.

The people in the outer islands have been hampered in obtaining this care in the past because of travel expenses and time necessary for travel. There also exists a fear of going to the hospital, but not so much to the clinic, so having the equipment in the health centers will help more patients to obtain the care they need. 

Vaini Community Health Center Delivery

Semisi Finau setting up nebuilizer

'Isoa and Sione Fa'avae putting equipment together

 
    

Dr Sa'ale Lemisio (senior medical officer)

Sione 'Ulufonga, health officer

We provided basic medical equipment to clinics including glucometer and strips, BP monitor, pulse oximeter,  ECG machine, vascular and baby doppler, infant CPAP machine, manual resuscitator, adult scales, nebulizer, ophthalmoscope, & laryngoscope. 





It is hard to believe the clinics were able to operate without this basic equipment. 

Semisi told us that the WHO (World Health Organization) has approached him about this same project, but are willing to expand upon our Forget Me Not equipment. This makes me so happy. The people in the distant villages of Tongatapu and the outer islands are being blessed with new medical equipment and thus will receive better care.

Food Storage For Upcoming Shortage

With past hurricanes on Ha'apai and Vava'u, there have been local food crop shortages a few months after the disaster. Thus, it is expected there will be a shortage here in Tongatapu of local food crop a couple months after Cyclone Gita.

Manioke plantation

Manioke grows as a tall bush. The wind tossed the leaves back and forth, disrupting the root below. The crop is the root. After the storm, this root crop will rot and die off unless quickly harvested.

Elder 'Aisake Tukuafo (Area 70) asked if LDS Charities would provide freezer containers to store the harvested manioke crop. It will then be distributed to the hungry when the shortage occurs.




The harvested manioke root was brought to Liahona Campus where the students were put to work peeling, cutting, and bagging the crop.











The prepared root crop was then put in a 40-foot freezer container on campus. Containers will be at 2 other sites on the island for easier delivery and distribution to the entire island population at the time of need. One in the east and one in Maufunga (Nuku'alofa) at our Welfare office. Liahona is central.

















There will be another big push on Tongatapu this weekend for harvesting the manioke. Storage of this crop will be a real blessing for the Tongans when the shortage develops. Manioke is a staple food in the Tongan diet.

Elder and Sister Thomson spent a couple days this week locating bags for the storage of the crop. Alisi Kaufusi, Buyer at the Service Center was very helpful in getting the best price for the bags. They are ready to be filled.