Oxfam is working with its local partners the Tonga National Youth Congress (TNYC) and the Civil Society Forum of Tonga (CSFT) to respond to the devastation caused by Cyclone Gita on February 12th that impacted almost 80,000 people. Oxfam and its partners are working to restore access for affected populations to safe drinking water, improve hygiene and sanitation, and restore livelihoods for smallholder farmers with a focus on the most vulnerable populations.
Cyclone Gita affected 70% of the country's population and displaced about 4,500 people who are now in evacuation centers. Homes were destroyed, safe water supplies were disrupted and vital food crops were heavily damaged. Thousands of individuals are in desperate need of support to access clean drinking water, emergency sanitation and hygiene supplies, and organic seeds and seedlings to meet their basic needs and to begin rebuilding their lives.
Your support will help Oxfam and its local partners TNYC and CSFT improve access to safe drinking water for affected populations; reduce the risk of disease and adverse health effects through the provision of emergency sanitation and hygiene supplies, public health messages, and the restoration of vital infrastructure such as toilet facilities; and restore livelihoods and food security of affected populations through organic seeds and agricultural inputs.
Once the immediate water and sanitation needs of affected communities are met, Oxfam and its partners will support its in-country networks of organic smallholder farmers and other vulnerable households to restore their livelihoods with seeds and agricultural inputs. Market access will be strengthened for the most vulnerable with a pilot cash program and the establishment of temporary markets for smallholder farmers and other vulnerable groups.
