By Eleanor Gee

A two-day Holiday Market Festival opened this morning displaying and selling Tongan crafts and mats from Ha’apai, ‘Eua, Vava’u and Tongatapu at the Tonga Development Bank compound in Nuku’alofa.

The festival, in its fourth consecutive year, was opened by Guest of honour, Lady ‘Ainise Sevele, showing small business goods produced under the TDB’s microfinance scheme.

The scheme supported by the Asian Development Bank empowers vulnerable people, particularly women who are disadvantaged such as the unemployed, widows, and single mothers among others, to earn an income to increase the standard of living for themselves and their families.

Lady Sevele said the TDB scheme is important to help Tongan women start small businesses to help their families. She said when she was growing up in the 1950’s and 1960’s, there were only a small number of business women and there were very few sources of income available for them. “Families relied on the husband’s or father’s income, which was not always enough to cover a decent education.”

“In this day and age, our standard of living has increased as well as the needs of families, which is why there is a greater need to expand our sources of income.”

She added that Tongan women are able to accomplish and contribute a lot to their families and TDB is making this possible.

“I’d like to thank the Tonga Development Bank for the opportunities available for women to be able to start their own small businesses using their skills and talents to build up their families and the economy of our country. Women who earn an income can now enable a better education for their children.”

She said women can run businesses such as catering, handicrafts, baking, floristry or use any skill that can be performed in their homes without disrupting family life.

Lady Sevele congratulated those women who are taking part in the program.

TDB Chief Executive Officer, Leta Kami, said she was very pleased to see people from the outer islands taking part in the festival to showcase their talents. The market festival ends on Friday, 1 December 2017.