8 June 2015 Mission to help disability centre in Tonga

A group of Lincoln University students hope their upcoming mission trip to Tonga will help raise awareness of the challenges faced by Pacific Islanders with disabilities.

Trip organiser and Lincoln scholar Sally Terry says disabled people in island nations receive little government support, meaning their quality of life is low.

So she and seven other students are heading to Tonga on 24 June to help build an outdoor sanctuary at a disability facility there. 

The facility – known as the Mango Tree Respite Centre – provides physical therapy and support to people with disabilities. However, it receives no government funding, so has to rely on help from volunteers and donors, Sally says.

“When we found out about the centre, we thought it would be great to design a wellbeing space for them, where people can spend time outside in beautiful surroundings.”

Sally says the space, designed by students from Lincoln University’s School of Landscape Architecture, will be a wheelchair-friendly block with gardens, benches, ramps and raised beds.

The respite centre gave the go-ahead for the project to progress after staff members were sent a copy of the design, and architects from Tonga are locked in to begin work this month.

“The concrete should be laid before we arrive, and we’ll spend our time there planting flowers and shrubs and really getting the gardens under way,” Sally says.

“At the moment, the respite centre is just a small building surrounded by a wire fence, which is not very appealing. We want to make it a happy, positive place.” 

The project has been two years in the making, with the students working hard to raise funds for the outdoor space, and they hope to raise more before their departure.  

“It’s so great to see the different components of the project finally come together. We have received a Pacific Islands grant, which will cover the costs of concrete for the outdoor area, and sourced building materials, so it’s all falling into place,” Sally says.

“We’ve raised $15,000 so far, including the grant, and have all paid for our own flights. But we’d like to raise more money before we leave, to make the outdoor area as beautiful as possible.” 

Sally attends Lincoln University on a Future Leader Scholarship, which is designed for promising young people who are keen to hone their leadership skills. 

She has wanted to organise a mission trip since visiting the Solomon Islands as a high school pupil.

“It totally changed my perspective on life, as I had no idea how privileged I was,” she says. “The experience really opened my eyes.”

Future Leader Scholarship Programme co-ordinator Alana Dawson suggested that Sally arrange an expedition and she began researching areas that were most in need of assistance.

“Through my research, I found out about the Mango Tree Respite Centre and how difficult it is in Tonga for people with disabilities,” Sally says. “I thought it seemed like a really worthy cause.”