Tongan friends demonstrate faith and resilience
The National Spiritual Assembly recently sent a message of support to the National Assembly of Tonga (shown lower on this page). A warm acknowledgement of this message came from the Counsellor resident in Tonga, Ms Latai ‘Atoa, who conveyed appreciation for the “comfort and solace” received, and for “all the love and prayers shared to the people in Tonga”. The response of the National Assembly of Tonga follows.
Email letter from the National Assembly of Tonga
The National Assembly of Tonga wrote on 2 February 2022:
Dearly loved friends,
We wish to extend our sincere appreciation and gratitudes for the email letter received on the 24 of January 2022 to your esteemed institution and to the Bahá’í community of Aotearoa. Our apologies for the delay of response to your email due to the limited internet connection in the country.
We are truly grateful to hear of Mr Sione Tu'itahi's effort in NZ with the Aotearoa Tonga Relief Committee to assist with relief response and assistance to Tonga following the wake of the HTHH volcanic eruption and tsunami. This will be greatly appreciated by the Tongan community. …
We are truly grateful for the prayers of strength during these challenging times whilst looking at the opportunity to assist the community of Tonga and would welcome more prayers to support the society building efforts on the ground. Miraculously we have not had any loss of life in the Bahá’í community due to the incident and only had 6 households from the Bahá’í community in Tongatapu that were affected by the tsunami waves, whilst the rest were only affected by the volcanic ash which has impacted livelihoods and access to clean water. We are impressed with the harmonious spirit of cooperation in all villages where Bahá’í friends are assisting very closely the community building efforts to support their village's resiliency amidst these natural disasters.
And recently with the opportunity provided by the Greater Plan of God, Tonga as of last night at 9pm has now been confirmed with 2 covid19 infected patients from the frontliners work of the Government and the whole country is going into lock down beginning this evening. We understand that equally in all parts of the world are experiencing the various waves of tests, let alone Aotearoa you continue to battle this novel pandemic, focusing on the opportunities it is providing our sister countries and Pacific region, your words of encouragement and support collectively strengthen our nation to focus on services to humanity and our community building efforts.
We are still experiencing very poor communication with international calls only available from 5am-5pm and only mobile data (with very limited capacity) from 5pm-5am daily. This doesn't allow for email access on phones, however we are grateful for some communication now open.
Please extend our loving greetings to your institutions, the Aotearoa community and the Tongan community for all your prayers of strength, protection and loving support sent to your sister national community. We continue to trust in the protection and power of the Blessed Beauty for Tonga and the Pacific.
[Signed: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Tonga]
Message from Aotearoa to Tonga
The National Assembly of New Zealand wrote to the National Assembly of Tonga on 24 January 2022:
Dearly loved friends
Malo e lelei
We convey to your esteemed institution and to all the dear people of Tonga, the heartfelt love of the Bahá’í community in Aotearoa and its earnest wishes for a strong recovery from the devastating natural disaster that has affected your homeland. Please be assured that you are remembered in our ardent prayers.
Following a period of anxiety immediately after the volcanic eruption and tsunami, when severely limited information about the situation in Tonga was reaching the outside world, it is a relief to now know that there was very little loss of life. However, there is clearly a massive challenge at hand for rebuilding homes, restoring infrastructure and reviving agriculture. It is also clear that Tongan society is approaching this challenge with a sense of faith and unity that is inspiring to see. May Bahá’u’lláh confirm and bless the Bahá’í community’s contributions to the national effort.
We would like to let you know that a member of this Assembly, Mr Sione Tu’itahi, is a member of the Aotearoa Tonga Relief Committee set up by the two Tongan MPs in the New Zealand Parliament, and this committee is driving a family-to-family relief campaign. Containers are being packed at Mt Smart Stadium so that families can supply small drums of non-perishable food and other essentials, for shipping to their relatives in Tonga. Other Pasifika communities are also contributing. Auckland Mayor Mr Phil Goff has made personal donations but also a contribution from the Council. These efforts are of course additional to the aid being provided by the New Zealand government.
If there is any specific help that we could provide, please do not hesitate to inform us of your needs.
We are aware that the Blessed Beauty will be reinforcing the friends in Tonga with bounties from the Divine Kingdom that will enable you to triumph over adversity, and the light of the Faith will shine brighter as a result. The hearts of all the friends in Aotearoa are with you in your resolute endeavour.
[Signed: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of New Zealand]
cc Counsellors Latai ‘Atoa and Tessa Scrine
