Tonga Red Cross Society (TRCS) donated cash assistance of $500,000 for 632 families who were affected by the 2022 HTHH tsunami, in Tongatapu, ‘Eua and Ha’apai, in partnership with the Tonga Development Bank (TDB) who will distribute the cash assistance.
TRCS handed over the cheque to TDB on 15 December, in Nuku’alofa.
They acknowledged the support from the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC), which enables TRCS to continue its assistance to the recovery efforts of families that were affected by the 2022 HTHH tsunami.
TRCS Treasurer Aloma Johansson, thanked the TDB Acting Chief Finance Officer, ‘Ana Lotulelei Manu, who will work with her team on the distribution of the donated cash to the families’ individual accounts. Each of the 632 families in Tongatapu, ‘Eua, and Ha’apai will each get $800 pa’anga.
The TRCS Secretary General Sione Taumoefolau said this cash assistance would be most helpful for families who are still recovering from the damage caused by the tsunami.
“This cash assistance has proved to be of great help with families financial struggles from the disasters in January last year. We found in a survey that there is a very small percentage of people misusing the money they receive.”
He said each family had now received about $16,000 of cash assistance from TRCS, in the aftermath of the HTHH tsunami.
