Upper Room Student Planting Garden

School Garden/Childhood Obesity Prevention Project included a school garden. The children helped plant the garden at Upper Room Ha'ateiho. They seemed to really enjoy being a part of the work.

The plan is that the students will help with the watering and weeding. At harvest, lunch will include fresh vegetables from the garden the students helped plant, weed, and harvest. The hope it will instill a love of gardening and eating fresh vegetables.

We also provided a gas stove with propane tank and regulator. Many moms stay at the school during the day. They will help with cooking healthy lunches for the students. They are excited to be able to cook warm lunch, especially in the cold season (70 degrees).

The man helping the students plant is Vaini Stake President Tevita Asi who is a farm employee whose responsibility is gardens.

Where you have a plot of land, however small, plant a garden. Staying close to the soil is good for the soul."                    Spencer W. Kimball 

Breath of Life

We decided early on in our mission we wanted to do a medical project each year. In 2017, we completed the Forget Me Not project (previous blog). When that project was completed, we asked Semisi Finau, biomedical engineer for Tonga, what was the biggest need in the hospital. He said Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

We toured the NICU. It is very small. With up to 10 newborns in the NICU at a time, there can barely be room for the newborns, incubators, doctors, nurses, moms, and other equipment.

Vaiola Hospital really is in need of more space for the NICU, but remodel and expansion is far more than our budget.

In looking for a way to help, we visited with Dr George Aho, head of pediatrics. We learned that the hospital has 2 very old ventilators (pictured right), both adult size. They are so old they cannot even get parts for these machines any longer. The staff try to make these ventilators work for the babies, but this is for from ideal (improper fit and adult diseases can be introduced into the newborns). Often the babies must be transported to the adult ICU for ventilator treatment.  These adult ventilators help but it would be so much better to have neonatal-sized ventilators for the babies. 

About 10% of all babies have respiratory problems and require oxygen. Premature births are on the rise in Tonga, and these little ones require oxygen.

We decided we wanted to try to find a way to fund 2 newborn ventilators for Tonga. Semisi researched costs for ventilators and providers. He wrote up a project with all the required information and costing. Selesia Fifita, head anesthesiologist wrote “There is an urgent need as we struggle to keep our critically ill babies alive.”

Elder and Sister Bills, our supervisors in New Zealand, visited Tonga the first week of February 2018. We took them to tour the NICU and to meet Semisi and Dr Aho. The Bills have a granddaughter who was premature and needed ventilator treatment so they understand the great needs of premature infants and have a soft heart for them, as do we as we have had two grandchildren who required ventilators. We told Elder Bills the estimated costings, which was high. He said there are ways to get these things passed and suggested we submit a project.

We gathered all the required costings, letters from physicians and priesthood. Pictures were taken of the NICU and the tiny newborns who can be helped/saved with ventilators. The $120,000 NZ far exceeds our limit for normal projects. It had to be approved first by the area presidency in New Zealand, then sent on to Salt Lake for approval. Months later, we had the answer. Breath of Life was approved!

We worked with a team in SLC to be sure we purchased the best ventilators and had thought of all needs for the NICU. Two ventilators were purchased from GE, a company in New Zealand. We were hopeful they would get to Tonga before we completed our mission; they arrived in Tonga Friday, June 7. Silongo Samani, our country welfare manager, was able to work with customs and expedite delivery of the ventilators to Vaiola Hospital Monday, June 10. The vendor sent a specialist to train the medical staff for a whole week on the equipment. GE also sent a third ventilator as a donation to the Kingdom of  Tonga. As a plus, this new equipment is able to treat premature babies all the way up to adults with various attachments and settings on the machines.

Elder Tukuafu, Area Seventy, and Dr. Siale ‘Akau’ola, CEO, cut the ribbon at handover ceremony. At the handover, we learned Tonga has never had a NEW ventilator.

Dr 'Akau'ola, Elder Thomson, Dr George Aho, Sister Thomson, Elder Tukuafu

What a blessing for the Kingdom of Tonga to have these ventilators. They will save lives of many premature babies and newborns with breathing difficulties, as well as critically ill adults. This has been a very rewarding project to be involved in. We are happy the ventilators arrived before we go home June 21.

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.   Genesis 2:7

Ha'apai Emergency Container

Getting the emergency container to Ha'apai has been a challenge. We first went up to Ha'apai to meet the container in October, but the container was too heavy to be lifted onto the boat. We returned home, moved much of the contents to smaller containers, and shipped all up to Ha'apai. Vili Toutai, FM manager at Ha'apai, got some men to move the contents to the FM property, but even the empty 20-foot container was too heavy for the existing forklift to move it to the property.

We tried several options over the next 6+ months. PTH truck was too small to move the container. Tonga Power truck was broke down and awaiting parts. Our options were running out. When Silongo Samani, our country manager, returned from the States in June he said there was a new ship going to Ha'apai with a larger forklift. He called them and this company said they thought they could move the empty 20-foot container to the property. It was sailing the next day. Villi called the next day with the good news -- The container was in place at the FM property! 

We flew up to Ha'apai the next day to move the contents from the FM building to the container. Six strong men came and were the muscle to move the heavy black rolls of plastic, along with the other boxes. These rolls were stacked at the back of the container.

Shelving was put together. With many helping hands it did not take long. 



Sosaia Tonga'onevai, stake president put chainsaws together.

Tarpoulins, tents, two generators, bow saws, hack saw, chain saws, crow bars, first-aid kit,extension cords, gas cans, hammers, emergency lights, screwdrivers, ropes, wrenches, chain saw oil, nails, axes, rakes, shovels, and more were taken out of packing boxes and organized in the container.

 Elder Thomson and a couple of the men put the wheels on the generator.

Everything was labeled for hopeful return after being used during an emergency. 










We did not think we were going to be able to get this container in place before we finished up our mission because of the difficulty in moving the container to the church property. But finally it is done.


Ha'apai will be better prepared for the next emergency - cyclone or otherwise.

Remember when disaster strikes, the time to prepare has passed. 
                      Steven Cyros

Childhood Obesity Prevention

We had the handover at Upper Room Kindergarten in Ha'ateiho of the School Garden and Childhood Obesity Prevention Project. Ministry of Health hopes by reaching out to the very young children to promote healthy eating and exercise that these children will love exercise and will make good foods choice throughout their life. This would then help reduce the childhood obesity rates in Tonga which approach 60%. LDS Charities helped in 3 preschools this year.

At the Upper Room handover, we chose to set up an obstacle course. We had several of the kindergarten students participate. They appeared to love it, and more children wanted to run the course. I am sure the teachers let them after we left. 










We enjoy working with children. We hope more schools can get playground equipment for the children. There are so many preschools with next to no outdoor large muscle activities. The children need to be able to run and play between times of study. So much is learned through play.

How can you not love these children? They smile, they laugh, they share, they want to have fun, they want to please. What a privilege to have been able to bring this playground equipment to the kindergarteners.

Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning, but for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.               Fred Rogers