News Release

Tongan Latter-day Saints Continue Sending Food to Vanuatu

Last weekend a container of food donated by Tongan members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was packed and loaded onto a boat bound for Vanuatu to aid communities still feeling the effects of Cyclone Pam.

This is the second container to be sent to Vanuatu filled with donated food from the homes and gardens of Tongan Church members.

Church leaders in Tonga organized the gathering and packing of 884 20kg bags of cassava grown in Latter-day Saints’ home gardens.  Cassava is a nutrient-rich root vegetable eaten in many South Pacific nations.

The cassava was packed and hauled to the Church’s Self Reliance Centre in Ma’ufanga.  Church leaders and members then loaded the cassava into a shipping container ready for transit.

The container was closed and sealed for shipment 17 April 2015.

This is the second container of food to be sent to Vanuatu from Latter-day Saint members in Tonga. Read about the first shipment of aid from Tonga. 

As it may take several months for the people of Vanuatu to plant, grow and harvest food in their own gardens, donations such as this one help to feed families as they await their own crops to grow.

Elder O. Vincent Haleck of the Pacific Area Presidency, said, “It is inspiring to see families in Tonga knowing the needs of their brothers and sisters in Vanuatu, and giving of their own food to ensure others can have enough to eat. The people of Tonga are showing what it means to be followers of Christ, reaching out in love and kindness to those in need.”

 

 

 

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