Oxfam: Relief Response to Cyclone Gita in Tonga

Oxfam funding and technical support is facilitating the delivery of emergency water and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) supplies, and also restoring damaged WASH infrastructure with funding, technical training, and equipment support to partners. Notable results include:

• Distributed 1,195 hygiene kits to vulnerable households.
• Purified contaminated water supplies and repaired rainwater infrastructure at 50 tanks in over 32 schools, disability centers, and community water points across Tongatapu and ‘Eua.
• Currently repairing and restoring safe water supplies at schools and promoting public health education, which is benefitting 3,500 primary and secondary school students across Tongatapu and ‘Eua.
• Installing emergency water points and repairing household rainwater harvesting infrastructure in 10 villages across Tongatapu, which will benefit a total of 347 households.
• Presently working to distribute 200 house rainwater harvesting kits.

Since access to food was identified as a leading priority for cyclone-affected populations on both islands, Oxfam and its partners are also distributing seeds, seedlings, and farm inputs to 800 organic farmers across Tongatapu and ‘Eua to restore the production of fast-growing organic crops. Oxfam’s partner, the Tonga National Youth Congress (TNYC), constructed two major nurseries in Tongatapu and ‘Eua, and is growing organic seedlings at the nurseries for farmers to replant. The aim of the community replanting project is to engage whole communities and to leave no one behind. It is expected that there will be a surplus that community members can sell as produce to generate needed income, which will in turn further assist households and communities to reestablish gardens and cash vegetable crops.

TNYC is also holding community consultations with participating villages to identify vulnerable households in each community that will qualify for supplementary cash support, the aim of which is to enable vulnerable groups (people with disabilities and women single-headed households) to purchase goods from farmers participating in the project, and to sell produce at market, to restore their own livelihoods. Oxfam is supporting this cash and market access component.

Saane’s story: Saane is a 46-year-old widow with 5 children. She works at home and uses her garden to feed her family with traditional root crops. Her brothers are sometimes able to support her. Though her home is made of bricks and has corrugated iron roofing, Cyclone Gita completely blew away one side of her roof and her home was severely damaged.

Saane received support from TNYC to restore her household’s water supply, clean her tank, and restore connections, which is providing Saane and her children with safe drinking water. As their household garden is such an important source of food security, Saane has also joined the community replanting project described above to kick-start her garden and she hopes to sell the surplus produce.