Welcome to the ha’apai Islands Tonga The Ha’apai islands are home to about 8,000 people located in 30 villages. These three girls are from St Joseph’s Community High School on the island of Lifuka.

Our islands include many beautiful coral atolls and reefs. The Ha’apai island group is situated north of Tongatapu. There are 62 islands in total; most of which are coral atolls. This is a picture of a small island surrounded by coral reefs.

Most of our islands are very flat. This is a computer-generated picture of the airport on Lifuka, an island in the Ha’apai group. Only 17 of the 62 islands are inhabited. Most are accessible from Lifuka by boat. Source: Flyawaysimulation.com

Our classrooms look a bit different from your classrooms. This is a classroom at Pangai Primary school on one of the main islands called Lifuka.

But we like to play similar games to you.

At school we learn about what to do if there is an earthquake followed by a tsunami. Because the Ha’apai islands are low-lying, they are at risk in the event of a tsunami. The notice indicates that if there is an earthquake people should move to higher ground in case a tsunami follows it. Why is the notice in two languages?

Our teacher tells us after an earthquake we should get to higher ground in case a tsunami follows it. This is the Principal of Pangai Primary school. He tells the children not to go down to the beach after an earthquake and if they see the tide rapidly going out they must get to higher ground. For the younger children who can’t climb the cell phone tower, he is considering building posts and clipping the smaller children onto them.

He has taught us how to climb the cell phone tower, or else we can get a ladder and climb onto the school roof.

We are also in danger from cyclones We are also in danger from cyclones. This is what happened to our high school when Cyclone Ian came a few years ago.

Some of the houses on our islands look like this. There are rocks and tyres holding down the tarpaulin on the roof. Is this due to cyclone damage? Is that an electricity meter?

We cook in outdoor kitchens like this one. If you look closely you can see the oven with a gas bottle next to it. How is this outdoor kitchen different from your kitchen at home?

Most of our houses don’t have electricity, but this community hall does. What must this house have for the people to be able to watch television? Can you see the orange plastic containers? What are these for? (They will be for water for washing dishes, etc.)

The sea around our islands is rising causing our well water to become salty.

If the water underground is salty we can’t drink it If the water underground is salty we can’t drink it. So we need to collect rain water. This house is actually on the island of Tongatapu (not on Ha’apai) but it shows clearly the common method of collecting rain water from the roofs of homes. What could people do to make sure that the rain water from the roof is safe to drink?

Do you think this water is safe to drink? Water from the house roofs can be too dirty to drink. This is because debri and bird droppings can land on the roof and when it rains they run down into the water container. Also the water container is open to the elements so rubbish can dirt can blow in. This water would be good to use for cooking, cleaning and washing – not for drinking.

These water catchment tanks were built about 100 years ago. Access to fresh water on Ha’apai has been a problem for over one hundred years. These community water tanks were built in the 1920s to store rain water.

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has supported Caritas Tonga in fixing many of the old water tanks. Some of the water catchment tanks have fallen into disrepair. The one on the left has lost its roof completely and has filled up with rubbish. The tank on the right is in the process of being renovated. It has a new roof and new wooden supports.

Do you think that the water stored in these community catchment tanks will be safe for us to drink? The picture on the left shows the guttering on the right of the roof and the down-pipe that goes from the guttering into the tank. People can get water from these tanks by opening up a small door (picture on the right) and lowering a bucket inside. The door is kept locked and the key is held be someone who lives nearby. The guttering has a first-flush system which means that the first volume of water that falls on the roof is flushed away, taking with it any debri that may have settled in the guttering or on the roof. After this, the water which falls flows from the guttering into the down-pipe, and into the tank. The water should be fairly safe to drink, although, because the roof is not well-sealed, some bugs or insects might get in. Caritas New Zealand is helping Caritas Tonga think about ways that the roofs could be more securely sealed.

We are also storing water in new plastic tanks. Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has also paid for some of these new plastic Rotomould tanks on Ha’apai. They are mainly used as emergency water supplies and are situated at community centres such as schools and churches. They provide safe drinking water. Why do you think this is?

Thank you Caritas for helping us get new water tanks! Caritas Tonga is continuing to work with the Tongan Government’s National Disaster Management office to ensure that villages in the Ha’apai Islands are better prepared for future droughts and extreme weather events.