Updates from Tongariki

I talked to my friend Elsie a few days ago. I think I’ve brought her up a lot on this blog—she is Tongariki’s headmistress-slash-my favorite friend. I got a good update from her on what the situation is like on Tongariki.

Mostly, it’s a lot better. The NZ Army put new iron roofs up on the school. They rebuilt the kindy, and our new water tank is being put up next week(thank you, Aus Aid!). Most of the houses are back up. The gardens are growing. Some of the three month vegetables, like Chinese cabbage, are already ready to eat.

The sad news is that there was a death. A little boy named David had to be helicoptered off of the island after the cyclone. He spent a month in the hospital in Vila, and he died. His mother, father, and siblings were with him in Vila the whole time.

The good news is that the community is getting ready to have a really big wedding. My old neighbor, John Lorry, is getting married to his fiancee, Esther. They’re going to do it towards the end of the month. Hopefully I’ll be in Vila before they get married, because I’d like to send a bottle of something for their party. It's good life is getting back to normal.