Australian volunteers continue to support Tonga ^Featured

About 20 Australian volunteers and their dependents departed Tonga last month. They had been working in a variety of sectors, including health, emergency management, agriculture, counselling and sports development.

David Wyler, who manages the Australian Volunteers Program in Tonga, said it had been difficult for volunteers to leave behind their work and friends in Tonga, but that once the COVID-19 crisis was over, the volunteer program was looking forward to getting back to what it does best: sharing Australian expertise with developing countries to help them develop their own capacity.

Tim Cleasby and his wife Zoe Hillig were volunteering in Tonga for nearly a year before having to return home early due to COVID-19. Tim helped manage the workload at the Tongan Ministry of Health Physiotherapy Department, and supported a new Australian-Government funded rehabilitation department, training and mentoring local staff.

“My proudest moment came in the last few weeks of my assignment,” Tim said. “When the new facility opened, we started running a class for clients who had recently suffered a stroke, with the goal of creating a supportive environment for them to share their journey and exercise together.

“Initially this took quite a lot of my time and I was often the only physio who attended. But in the weeks before I left, I was really encouraged to see the local physiotherapy staff running the class with fantastic outcomes and seeing lots of improvements in the clients.

“In my final week I witnessed one lady stand and take multiple steps with slight assistance, where only months before she required two people to help her stand! As I walked on the runway to board the plane home, a stroke class client walked over to thank me for all the things the class and service had done for him, including allowing him to return to his job at the airport.”

“We were really sad to leave Tonga sooner than expected. We struggled to pack our life and house up in such a short and uncertain time and really miss the friends we made.

“My wife and I are both still in touch with our partner organisations, and assisting where we can from Australia. I have been answering clinical questions and finishing off training modules, while my wife is helping with grant applications and ongoing monitoring and evaluation support for her partner organisation – the Tonga Health Promotion Foundation.

“We have made lifelong friends and I am sure we will continue to be in touch with them formally and informally for many, many years.”

More than 450 volunteers worldwide on the Australia Volunteers Program were returned to Australia due to COVID-19. The Australian Volunteer Program is already planning for how it will remobilise the program once the pandemic has been brought under control and Australians are again able to travel.