The Kingdom of Tonga (yes, we still have a King you may have seen him at a recent royal wedding) comprises 176 Islands in the South Pacific. Tonga is also known as the Friendly Islands (named by Captain Cook!) and although the Tongan people are incredibly warm and friendly, Tonga is nowadays better known for its main export, rugby players, its tropical beaches ......oh yeah and also its obesity problem.

I grew up in the village of Vaini on the main island of Tongatapu and attended the village school, Vaini Primary School. Although both Vaini and its school are very poor by British standards, I wasn’t aware of this at the time and had a very happy childhood. I was a bit of a geek as a young child and loved going to school. I used to race to school with my best friend and neighbour, Mani (who is playing rugby in France) but he was skinny and fast (still is, full back/wing) and although he would give me a head start, I always lost.

Children and Teachers

I moved to New Zealand with my (adoptive) mum at the age of eight as she believed I would have a better education and more opportunities in the West than I would have in Tonga. Whereas my eight brothers and sisters finished school in Tonga, I went to St Mary’s Primary school in Avondale, Auckland where I learnt to speak English for the first time. At first this was a huge culture shock - I remember my grandparents sending me to a dairy (newsagents!) to buy some milk. It took me a good five minutes making moo sounds and simulating milking a cow before another Tongan guy came in and saved me! However, I learnt English, did ok at school and discovered rugby. This gave me many more opportunities than my siblings had and I am very grateful for this.

On my recent international tour for the rugby world cup, I returned to Vaini and was saddened to see how much the school had deteriorated.

Not only are many of the buildings falling apart but the students lack even basic supplies.

For this reason I am very keen to use this testimonial opportunity to give back to the island that made me who I am. I am hoping to raise funds for Vaini Primary School as I believe that the children who attend this school are as deserving of a good education as my own children. Through donating equipment and improving facilities at the school, I hope to provide the dedicated teachers with the vital tools they need to do their job effectively.

I am asking the Northampton community, which has shown me such warmth and support during my time at the Saints, to extend this to the children of my home village by providing:

• Books and stationery
• Sports equipment
• Computers and educational programmes
• Classroom furniture and equipment
• Fill a shoebox with student/child friendly items, such as stationary, toys, books, wash items etc
• We are open to suggestions of other useful items

We are trying to arrange for somewhere at the club for small donations to be left, we will be confirming these details via the website within the next week. With regards to larger items, as donations are offered, we will arrange appropriate storage until everything can be shipped. Please e mail us at lucsja@hotmail.com. 

I will undertake to oversee and fund the shipping of all donations and I will also support the distribution, so that all donations are usefully used and all monies are directed to the areas of greatest need for the children in Vaini. Additionally, I have also undertaken to fund a teacher’s salary at the school for the academic year following the testimonial.

Soane Tongauiha

MALO ‘AUPITO, ‘OFA ATU

Thank You Very Much, Love To All