A shipment of building materials has been delivered to Fonoi, Ha’apai, on 14 November, for the reconstruction of 18 houses following the devastating natural disaster on 15 January.

The Ministry of Infrastructure stated that the first shipment was delivered last week to the island, the second shipment was taken on Monday 14 and will be followed by with the third shipment soon, and it is estimated to build sixty houses.

The project leader for tsunami reconstruction projects, Paula Kava, has travelled to Fonoi. Water tanks and plastic waste tanks have been taken to the island, the remaining building materials arrived in the second shipment.

Fonoi’s church reverend, Lolohea Tu’itupou, said that all the homes on Fonoi had been demolished, however today they were seeing construction projects taking place and they are looking forward to their new homes.

“The tsunami in 15 January completely destroyed all the houses in Fonoi and the only buildings that remained were the Free Wesleyan Church (FWC) building and the FWC reverend’s residence.

“All building materials on the island were also destroyed and couldn’t be salvaged and there was a need for brand-new reconstructions of houses. Today, we see a bright future as constructions are underway and we are delighted and looking forward to our new home”, he said.

Masilamea

At the same time, construction of houses in Masilamea, Tongatapu have completed and they are now installing electrical wirings and electrical powerlines, to provide each of them with electricity, before they are ready for the re-located residents to move in.