Peace Corps awards Drew Havea [1]
Thursday, May 18, 2017 - 23:29. Updated on Thursday, May 18, 2017 - 23:48.
Siotame Drew Havea of Kolomotu’a has recently received a prestigious award from the United States Peace Corps.
The Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award is the highest honour given to a global leader by the National Peace Corps (NPCA).
Drew was recognised for supporting youth, democracy, civil society and leadership in Tonga and nominated for the award by Peace Corps Tonga Country Director, Nancy Gehron.
The nomination said that Drew has spent his life striving to eradicate poverty through a ‘community first’ approach to development and to create safe spaces to voice opinions for the historically underrepresented groups of young people and women in Tonga.
"In the Kingdom’s recent transition to democracy, Havea was instrumental in ensuring that common people - not just nobility and royalty - held leadership positions in the fledgling democracy. He has worked tirelessly to ensure that everyone can realize their full potential."
Peace Corps connection
Drew's father, a former officer in the Ministry of Education and Training, contributed to Peace Corps coming to Tonga in 1967.
Drew graduated from college in the United States and joined the Peace Corps as the Associate Peace Corps Director in Tonga for 20 years, from 1985-2005. He gained an appreciation of community-based development after seeing how volunteers immersed themselves in their communities. He also credits Peace Corps Volunteers with instilling in him a sense of idealism as well as showing him the importance of equality, gender sensitivity, and volunteerism.
He currently serves as the chairperson of the Civil Society Forum of Tonga, President of the Tonga National Youth Congress, Chairman of the Tonga National Leadership Development Forum, and member of the board of Tonga Red Cross Society.
Since Peace Corps Volunteers started coming to Tonga in 1967, over 1,700 volunteers have served in the Kingdom. This year marks the 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps in Tonga and there are plans to celebrate this milestone in October with dozens of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.