More than a ton of surplus medical supplies, masks, gowns, sanitizers and PPE, were donated by Kaiser Permanente Redwood City to the area’s Tongan community. The group Anamatinga Polynesia is collecting the material to help rebuild Tonga’s medical system, which was heavily damaged by the recent Pacific Ocean volcanic eruption that created a tsunami which smashed many of the Tongan islands.
With the support of local health agencies and other organizations, one San Mateo County nonprofit is looking to help the Tongan community abroad recover from a national disaster that has devastated its infrastructure and cut communication with loved ones living across seas.
“They’re sitting in the dark and hoping and praying,” Tiffany ‘Uhila-Hautau, executive director at ‘Anamatangi Polynesian Voices said. “They are expecting and anticipating our help and looking forward to our help so we’re just telling them through the phone that it’s coming.”
Just weeks ago, a volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami hit the Kingdom of Tonga, a collection of islands home to about 105,000 people. ‘Uhila-Hautau, a San Mateo County resident of Samoan and Tongan descent, was at her cousin’s wedding in Las Vegas when she got the news and immediately began rallying her team.
Over the past two years, the organization had been working nonstop to help local residents manage the pandemic and were tired, ‘Uhila-Hautau said. But having played a role in supporting recovery efforts after a tsunami hit Samoa in 2009, ‘Uhila-Hautau, who has a medical background, said she and her team were eager to extend their support to Tongans abroad.
Two weeks after launching into community organizing, ‘Anamatangi Polynesian Voices has launched a donation page to support the relief effort, begun collecting vital medical equipment, and is searching for ways to rebuild the country’s critical infrastructure.
“We’re just moving at godspeed at this point,” ‘Uhila-Hautau said.
A number of agencies are on the organization’s support list. Stanford Health Care donated roughly 140,000 N95 and KN95 masks, which will provide at least one face covering to everyone living on the island. And an additional 10 pallets of equipment has been donated by Sutter Medical Center, ‘Uhila-Hautau said.
The most recent donation came from Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest medical providers in the county, with more than a ton of PPE having been delivered Thursday morning. Included in the donation were surplus medical supplies, masks, gowns, sanitizers and other PPE that will be directed toward rebuilding Tonga’s hard-hit medical system.
“Part of Kaiser Permanente Redwood City’s mission is to care for the communities it serves so it was natural to help the large Pacific Islander community on the Peninsula,” a Kaiser Permanente spokesperson said in an email.
Large donations like these are vital for rebuilding the small nation’s infrastructure, ‘Uhila-Hautau said. Rather than send individual packages for families, the organization is thinking big, she added, noting the team is also conscientious of not overwhelming locals with massive unorganized donations.
Instead, ‘Uhila-Hautau said the ‘Anamatangi Polynesian Voices team is in communication with crews on the other side to make sure the distribution of goods is effective and efficient. Once arrived, the items will be taken to a warehouse, sorted and distributed to medical centers and villages still in great need.
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Making strong, long-lasting connections with community members on the island is also a top priority to ensure people continue to receive the support they need, ‘Uhila-Hautau said.
“We want to make sure it’s not a drive- or walk-through. We want to make sure we’re connecting with families and that way they have a sense of hope,” ‘Uhila-Hautau said.
And the donation of an aircraft from UPS is making it possible for the nonprofit to organize such a large shipment, ‘Uhila-Hautau said, noting their communications director Tonga Victoria played a key role in developing the partnership.
Thinking long term, ‘Uhila-Hautau said the organization is interested in partnering with additional large shipping companies who can provide planes or ships to help transport supplies like construction materials.
“If we could get a whole ship we could rebuild Tonga ourselves,” she said.
Her team is also meeting with various industry leaders to brainstorm ways to solve water supply issues rather than shipping bottles of water which can be heavy and have grave impacts on the environment without offering substantial benefits to the community.
Additionally, ‘Uhila-Hautau said repairing internet services is another key project the team is thinking about and reaching out to companies for assistance along with looking for pallets of food donations. Monetary contributions also go a long way, ‘Uhila-Hautau said.
“If this is how we can mobilize with two days’ notice, how many mountains we can move with just a bit more planning,” ‘Uhila-Hautau said. “It’s important for us to think big picture all the time.”
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
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Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
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