Tonga: Church in Oceania banding together to send aid
By Devin Watkins
Emergency humanitarian aid has finally begun to reach Tonga in the wake of last Saturday’s underwater volcanic eruption and tsunami, which devastated much of the Pacific island nation.
A navy ship from New Zealand unloaded life-saving water supplies on Friday, which were distributed across Tonga.
Besides potable water, the ship was carrying desalination equipment able to produce over 70,000 liters per day.
Volcanic ash blanketed most of Tonga’s islands, leading to fears that water supplies could be contaminated with heavy metals like arsenic and cadmium.
Coordinating Church’s assistance
The Catholic Church across the region is also banding together to send humanitarian aid through local Caritas partners.
Fr. Giorgio Licini, the general secretary of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of Papua New Guinea, spoke to Pope’ Alessandro Di Bussolo.
The Italian with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) said the national Caritas organizations in Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, and Papua New Guinea are coordinating their aid efforts.
He said financial resources are being gathered from those who are able to contribute and will be sent to the Caritas outfit in Tonga, which will decide how best to use the funds.
Rebuilding infrastructure
Fr. Licini added that the Church’s care will continue even after the initial emergency has passed.
He said assistance will be given to help rebuild infrastructure like schools and churches, as well as continued food aid and medicine supplies for those who need it.
“Unfortunately, the connection with the islands—and the government and the Church even—is difficult because of technical problems,” said Fr. Licini.
The lone underwater cable connecting Tonga to the internet was severed by the volcanic eruption last Saturday, and communication has been mainly through a few satellite phones.
“As soon as the cable is repaired, we will probably have a better picture of the magnitude of the devastation, and most importantly what people actually need,” he added.
Drinking water crisis
Fr. Licini agreed that access to potable water could be the most severe problem facing residents of Tonga.
People on the archipelago rely heavily on rain for drinking water, he said, since many areas do not have ready access to springs or natural sources of water.
“Many people will have to wait for the next rain” to renew their supplies, said Fr. Licini. “So, the provision of potable water and drinking water is most probably one of the emergencies in Tonga at the moment.”
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