Orange Tongan community rally to cover costs for emergency container to Tonga

Now, members of the Tongan community in Orange are rallying to support the battling island nation.

"Everyone's just struggling with trying to get resources, like clean water and food," Evelyn Fatai said, who has extended family on Tonga's main island, Tongatapu.

"With cleaning, as well - everyone's trying to get all of the ash off their house and just want to be able to go inside of their home," she said.

While Mrs Fatai's relatives continue to battle volcanic ash - which contains toxic gases, such as carbon dioxide and fluorine - she says her partner, Stan Fatai's family has experienced a different struggle in Ma'ufanga.

"They're the ones who are closer to the beach - the ones that live along the coastline - and they'd be having a much harder time because of the tsunami waves," she said of Stan's family.

With the eruption's emissions posing serious health risks to its people, Australia-based families of those in Tonga say they've had to navigate the unknown - with extremely restricted access in terms of communication.

"In the beginning, we didn't have any connection to our relatives for around 10 days ... it was painful not knowing whether your family members were alive or not," Mrs Fatai explained.

"There's contact through the phone now, but it's very limited and the lines aren't very clear, so it's really hard to talk as well. It takes a while to have a conversation because of delayed lines, and there's still no contact through Facebook, or anything to do with internet connection."

Orange couple, Siua and Lee Otukolo, also had the same difficulties trying to track down Siua's siblings and extended family who live on Tonga's main island.

"It was at least two-weeks without knowing anything ... it was scary," Mrs Otukolo said.

"[Siua] hasn't actually called his brother and sister on the phone for so long, because everyone uses Facebook and messenger with contact all of the time, so he couldn't remember what their phone number was and internet connection was gone completely.

"We've heard from them now and they're doing okay, but there's still such thick ash everywhere - most houses have a rainwater tank and they've had to disconnect their tank, because it's all become contaminated."

Alo Finau, one part of 28 Tongan families based in Orange, also didn't know where his relatives were for two weeks.

"Alo worried, particularly about his dad being so old," Alo's partner, Elise Finau said.

"It was a very stressful two weeks of not knowing if his [siblings] and dad were okay and safe [and he] was constantly checking his phone and Facebook for any updates. The Orange community were beautiful and kept messaging us to see if Alo and his family were okay."

Between the global pandemic and the recent devastation in Tonga, 28 Orange-based Tongan families have been contacted, with the target of shipping a container - the length of 44 feet - to their relatives and those impacted in the island nation.

"Tonga is such a self-sufficient country - like with growing taro and cassava, those vegetables that they're used to having - a lot of their food sources have been washed away," Mrs Finau said.

"They need clothing, food staples - things like flour and sugar, long-life items and tinned food - those basics that you can use to make food from, so that you can feed your family," Mrs Otukolo said.

"We need to pack items that are going to withstand being shipped over there, and that will hopefully be able to provide for them for a few months, at least."

While the families are gathering supplies as much as possible between them, estimated freighting costs have lead the Orange Tongan community to call-out for support.

"The shipping there is so expensive - it's up to about $15,000 to get the actual container shipped over there - so we're asking the community to help us get it all over there, because Tonga needs our help," Mrs Finau said.

"And the best thing about Tonga, too, is it's all for one and one for all - they all share. So, if there are essentials left over, it's like 'well I don't need this and I've got a fair bit of that - here mate, you take that' - it's absolutely community-driven like that."

With a goal of $20,000, the group have set up a Go Fund Me page to cover shipping and transportation costs.

The Orange Tongan community will also hold a fundraiser on March 13 at the Robinhood Hotel in Orange from midday to 4pm, where families will host an islander luncheon with cultural entertainment at $50 per adult, with free entry for kids. Tickets can be purchased through staff at The Robin Hood Hotel, available from February 19.

Families have also acknowledged the generosity of local organisations pledging their support, including The Robin Hood Hotel, Parkview Hotel, See Saw Wines, John Davis Motors, Harvey Norman Orange, Zona, Loc Sing Restaurant, Iron Ambitions, Village Coffee Shop, SportsPower, Everly Jewellers, Odeon 5 Cinemas and Intersport.

To find out more about donating or to sponsor this fundraiser, emails can be sent to orangetongancommunity@gmail.com