The programme will ensure that communities have the skills necessary to rebuild, said Amelia Ma'afu the acting director of Caritas Tonga.

The Support to Self-Recovery programme provides timber, tools, equipment and training so people can restore their own houses, with Build Back Safer principles an essential component of the repair work.

Amelia said that homeowners will be able to use these skills as they rebuild their homes with kits provided.

The Build Back Safer principles encourage the use of cyclone strapping and bracing, and introduce techniques that will increase the resilience of homes to future storms and earthquakes.

Habitat for Humanity Chief executive, Claire Szabo, said the money raised would include money from the community and businesses lending financial support, tools and tradespeople.

"The locals are very involved," she told Radio New Zealand.

"We have engineers and builders that are involved in supervision both here in New Zealand and up in Tonga.

"So there's a whole crew of people to get involved to make our model happen."

The project aims to rebuild 500 homes.

Palasa and Vaea Lolesio and their four children live in Fo'ui village.

They are one of many families whose homes were destroyed by cyclone Gita.

Their house was almost completely destroyed; only the walls of the kitchen and a small bedroom on the side of the house remain standing.

Vaea was able to rescue some of the roofing iron to straighten it out and make a shelter for the family to live in.

But the roof still leaked through old nail holes and splits in the iron.

He fixed this problem with a tarpaulin he received from Caritas.

He was committed to rebuilding the house with his brother's help but couldn't afford the materials required. He says he has the skills necessary and will start the rebuild as soon as he can.

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• caritas.org.nz
• caritas.org.nz
• kanivatonga.nz
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Thousands of people gathered, despite the poor weather, to pray for forgiveness and for the country in the face of the growing challenges it is experiencing.

The Tonga National Forum of Church Leaders organised the occasion after an increasing number of murders, road deaths and the most severe cyclone ever recorded.

There is said to be a conviction among the church leaders in Tonga that the unusually high number of murder cases and people dying from road accidents recently were a result of the "sinful way of life" that Tongans are living.

Illegal drugs and excess alcohol were said to be the cause of some of the fatalities.

One of the church leaders asked everyone, including the King, to kneel and offer their prayers to God.

Seven choirs performed to the thousands in the run-up to the service.

A famous Tongan hymn called Pule'anga mo e Siasi ka e malohi ha fonua was sung.

The hymn says that the church and state must stand together for the country to stand at all.

The event was a display of Christian unity from seven different churches - the Church of Latter Day Saints, Siasi Tokaikolo, the Free Church of Tonga, the Free Constitutional Church of Tonga, the Church of Tonga, the Roman Catholic Church and the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga.

Source

• royalcentral.co.uk
• cookislandsnews.com
• Image tonganz.net

The Society has forwarded $10,000 to Tonga and $3,000 to Samoa from its disaster relief fund.

Tonga's needs are around health, hygiene and basic food needs; in Samoa the focus is on the repair of family homes.

"We have been in contact with our National Presidents in Tonga and Samoa," says the Society's Twinning Officer, Arthur Schultze. "They have kept us up to date with the areas where assistance is most needed."

In Tonga, health and hygiene are the priority area for the Society. Funds are going towards items such as disinfectant, toilet paper, napkins, mosquito nets in response to an outbreak of dengue fever, water and basic food items.

In Samoa, agricultural supplies - tools and seeds - and the replacement of roofs on family homes are the initial focus of support.

"Prior to Cyclone Gita, two shipments of clothing and other basics were sent to Tonga and a further shipment was dispatched last week which included clothing, bedding and canned food," said Arthur Schultze.

The Society in New Zealand has launched an appeal for funds through its Councils and Conferences to provide Tonga and Samoa with ongoing support.

The Vinnies are also having a 'gold coin' collection at many Catholic schools and food donations are being collected in Auckland schools.

The Society's National Council of Australia has offered A$10,000 to assist with aid in Tonga.

If you would like to contribute funds to the SSVdP Appeal, please contact admin@svdp.org.nz or phone 04 499 5075

Source

• Supplied: St Vincent de Paul Society

Cyclone Gita's destruction prompted the Lotofale'ia church in Mangere to co-ordinate relief efforts for Tonga for a third time.

Organiser, Sefita Haouli, says the congregation aims to send $60,000 worth of perishable goods.

They'll pack the goods into eight shipping containers and send them to Tonga by this week.

They hope the much-needed supplies will reach the Tonga by early March, Haouli says.

"Tongans are living day-to-to-day. By the time that food runs out our supplies should get there".

Tongan New Zealanders

More than 60,000 New Zealanders have Tongan ancestry.

More than 46,000 of them live in Auckland.

Haouli says Tongans, including Kiwi ones, are "three degrees away from knowing each other".

They are deeply affected by Tonga's latest cyclone.

"Everybody has family in Tonga," he says.

"It's definitely the worst storm they've seen in a generation, the biggest since 1961," he says.

"In many ways this is predictable because climate change has brought disaster to us only too frequently, this is our third storm over the last 10 years."

The effort has brought together all south Auckland communities and faiths.

Companies including Coca Cola have helped ship the goods to the country 2000km away.

The soft drink company has donated sealable steel drums, while renowned ex-All Black Michael Jones has paid to truck and ship the containers to Tonga, Haouli says.

He says more relief consignments to recover from Gita will follow Thursday's shipment.

"Without that we wouldn't be able to do this".

Alongside all the action, plenty of prayers have been said, too.

"It's gear and prayer together that makes this happen."

Source:

• Stuff
• Image credit: Stuff

When Cyclone Ian hit Tonga in January 2014, the roof of St Joseph's Technical College industrial arts classroom was destroyed.

Practical skills like woodwork and metalwork, which were taught in the classroom, are important in Tonga as many students go on to become carpenters, mechanics or involved in hands-on trades.

Sister Malia Kiutau, the principal of the school said after the classrooms were destroyed by the cyclone, they tried teaching woodwork in our main school building.

"The noise disturbed students in other classes. We had to stop and now students are missing out on a very important part of their education, because we can no longer use these classrooms."

Mufti Mania 2014 will support building a new classroom at St Joseph's.

Since 2007, Catholic Schools across New Zealand have raised over $100,000 through Mufti Mania to support schools in the Pacific.

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• Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
• Image: Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand