Signs of increasing child poverty in Tonga

TONGA – There are signs that child poverty is growing in Tonga, Radio New Zealand has reported.

In one case a doctor has started providing breakfast for about 150 school children in Nuku’alofa.

After noticing his grand-daughter was giving her lunch away to hungry classmates, Dr Taniela Palu took it upon himself to provide breakfast for children at her Nuku‘alofa primary school.

“I quickly contacted Sanitarium Health and Well-being in Auckland and they gave me a very good price and I buy off them to start off with, cornflakes and Weetbix. The milk I just buy locally here in Tonga. We are doing it two days a week, Tuesday and Thursday and the number of children is just building, now it’s an average of about 150.”

The director of the Women and Children Crisis Centre in Tonga, Ofa Ki-Levuka Guttenbeil-Likiliki, says impoverished children can become targets for sexual predators.

“They are more vulnerable and become more susceptible to physical and sexual violence by people who know that this kid is from a poor background, this kid is struggling and if I offer this kid food or money then it will be easier to access sexual violation.

“And you know we see an increase in young kids walking around Nuku’alofa vicinity selling peanuts.”

The director of Tongan advocacy group For Women and Families, Betty Blake, says she’s been approached by children as young as five years old selling peanuts.

“In previous cases children would be eight years old or nine years old – they used to come to my office and sell peanuts during school time, but this is the first time I’ve met much younger children.

“This is an indication of poverty, indication of unemployment. Maybe parents are not employed and they have to get income from, this might be the only way, so we need to look into that.”

The United Nations estimates the number of Tongans living in poverty increased about six percent between 2001 and 2009 to 22.5 perc ent of its roughly 100,000 people. The Asian Development Bank says Tonga has the third lowest rate of poverty in the Pacific but an economist with the Bank’s Pacific department, Christopher Edmonds, says that figure needs updating.

“That’s based on 2009 estimates, so it is quite dated at this point. Usually those poverty estimates are coming out of the household income and expenditure surveys that are only done every few years and obviously it’s been some time since Tonga did a proper survey.”

The Tonga government didn’t respond to requests for comment, but a spokesperson for Tonga’s National Youth Congress, Peni Ueti, says more community based solutions for feeding hungry children could inspire government support.

“If they work it out with the communities some way that they can feed children that are not that fortunate to have breakfast at home, that would be a better solution than waiting for governments to come up with an idea.

“I think they will shine out a light that the government will see that we should be doing something for these kids and supporting communities who are supporting their children.”

Peni Ueti says by feeding hungry children Dr Palu has set an example for many Tongans yet to grasp the importance of breakfast. - Dateline Pacific