Tongan youth

Tongan youth leaders hold local board to account on crime hike

Late last month, the trust took matters into their own hands and sat down with the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board to ask them what they could do to help reduce crime.

Simulata Pope has been involved with the To'utupu or Tonga Youth Trust all her life.

Her biggest frustration was with elected officials, who are nowhere to be seen when their young constituents asked for help.

"We vote these community leaders in. We vote all these adults in and the only time we see them are during elections," she said.

Mate Ma'a Tonga inspiring Tongan youth

Fran Popua 'Afeaki moved back to Tonga five years ago to work and invest back into her homeland. 

She says their league team's success on the international stage has encouraged young people to be proud of their nation.

"This team has decided to stuff the money and come back and win a world cup for us," she says. 

PRN reports 'Afeaki has a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Pacific Studies and French. She now works as a human resource manager for Tonga's Air Terminal Services. 

Father reveals son’s last words to him hours before he was killed in US

Richard Bloomfield, who is in Tonga, said they had jokes on Facebook with his eldest son on Sunday afternoon “with his last words to us…”Dancing in Paradise.” and that’s it”.

“My heart will forever throbbing!”, he said.

Richard also posted to Facebook a photo of him and his son saying it was taken when Viliami (Tongan for William) was 4.

William arrived in the United States from Tonga in 2015.

His aunt Fehoko Bloomfield ‘Okusitino told The Press Enterprise “He came to find a life, get a job and help out his family back home in Tonga.”