Samantha Chan considers the 11 days she spent on a small island in Tonga the best days of her life.
“We went for the purpose of building a storm shelter for the community, but I feel as though even though that was the purpose…it’s like we went to Tonga to build that strong connection with the people,” said Chan, a Richmond Secondary alum.
“It was the best 11 days of my life… We were able to treat each other like family within such a short time.”
Chan travelled to ‘Atata Island, Tonga – situated just outside the Pacific island nation’s capital Nuku’alofa – in 2018 with her global perspectives class at Richmond Secondary. She’s kept in touch with some of the residents since then over Facebook and video calls.
But the small community – which is home to just over 100 people, according to the preliminary results of Tonga’s 2021 census – was devastated after the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai undersea volcano erupted on Jan. 15.
The eruption launched volcanic material as high as 40 kilometres into the atmosphere, blanketing nearby islands with ash and triggering massive tsunami waves, according to the NASA’s Earth Observatory blog.
At least three people in Tonga were killed.
The former classmates are now hoping to raise awareness of the situation on ‘Atata Island, which Chan said hasn’t received as much attention.
“We are really concerned about their well-being. Even though we are concerned about if they have enough food to consume or if they have enough water, we’re also really worried about how they are feeling mentally because it is a very traumatizing event that took place,” Chan said.
Tonga’s undersea fibre optic cable was broken during the natural disaster, making it hard to receive updates from ‘Atata, although some news is being shared on Facebook, said Chan.
Chan said she and her former classmates are also hoping to draw attention to a GoFundMe fundraiser to support ‘Atata residents, launched by the one of the owners of the Royal Sunset Island Resort, where they stayed during their 2018 trip.
Many ‘Atata residents work at the resort, which they rely on to sustain their economy, said Chan.
According to the fundraiser, all ‘Atata Island residents were evacuated to Nuku’alofa. Most of the village houses have been destroyed or damaged and “a thick layer of ash is covering everything.” All but one of the resort buildings was washed away, but the remaining office building is “damaged beyond repair.”
Much of the resort was also destroyed, according to the GoFundMe page.
As of Jan. 28, the fundraiser has raised $12,060 AUD of its $100,000 goal.
Chan said one of her classmates has also been selling cookies, and will be donating 100 per cent of those funds to the GoFundMe, and the group is working to come up with other fundraisers.
“Even though some people may not have the capacity to donate to the GoFundMe… we really just want to let people know what has happened,” said Chan.
