Situated along the coast, looking out through coconut palms and over sandy beaches to the clear blue ocean, the community of 46 families has grown on what would be prime land anywhere else. But this is Patangata, this is the rubbish tip and this is their home.
The rubbish tip is now closed, but at this stage nothing has been done to plough it over, or clean up the area in any way, (there are plans to do so). In the past sorting and 'recycling' this rubbish has been the source of income for most of the local families. Not surprisingly this lifestyle, along with the shanty style housing, lack of sanitation and clean water, brings with it many illnesses.
The Salvation Army has worked among these people for about 4 years now. These days a mobile clinic (a purpose designed bus) visits the community once a fortnight offering medical assessment and basic treatment.
Along with the clinic a community worker offers health, hygiene, dental, mothering and lifestyle workshops at the local schools and in these communities. During my visit I had the privilege of attending the village community discussion facilitated by the Army. Amongst the people that attended was a 75 year old woman that told us that she hadn’t realised that she could attend the clinic, but now she knew, she would be attending to have her blood pressure tested. It was encouraging to hear the people thanking the Army for the clinic, offering their feedback and suggestions for improvements and suggesting topics for further workshops.
The rubbish tip is now closed, but at this stage nothing has been done to plough it over, or clean up the area in any way, (there are plans to do so). In the past sorting and 'recycling' this rubbish has been the source of income for most of the local families. Not surprisingly this lifestyle, along with the shanty style housing, lack of sanitation and clean water, brings with it many illnesses.The Salvation Army has worked among these people for about 4 years now. These days a mobile clinic (a purpose designed bus) visits the community once a fortnight offering medical assessment and basic treatment.
Along with the clinic a community worker offers health, hygiene, dental, mothering and lifestyle workshops at the local schools and in these communities. During my visit I had the privilege of attending the village community discussion facilitated by the Army. Amongst the people that attended was a 75 year old woman that told us that she hadn’t realised that she could attend the clinic, but now she knew, she would be attending to have her blood pressure tested. It was encouraging to hear the people thanking the Army for the clinic, offering their feedback and suggestions for improvements and suggesting topics for further workshops.
Some of the dreams for the future include a Sewing Café where women could bring their cloth and, for a small cost, sew items either for their own families or for sale to raise some income. Other plans are to expand the school health programs, and the playgroup, kindergarten programming.
The Army is establishing some good programs for the people of Tonga – like many other places the limitations are due mainly to a lack of resources.
