Home 
Publications Catalog Online Publications Document
What is Hardship?The communities consulted in this assessment viewed poverty or masiva as “having nothing”— being without or having limited access to land, food, housing, education, health services, and money. They defined hardship, or tu’utamaki, as living in a very difficult situation; being dependent on relatives for food, money, and shelter; and supporting too many dependents in the household. Hardship was also strongly associated with the inability to meet the family’s basic needs and traditional obligations (kavenga) and having limited resources, particularly land.
Mother, 48 Years Old
“My husband and I are not originally from ‘Eua. We met here when I accompanied my father to farm his land. I left school at Form 2 and am now the major income earner of the family. “We have six children, aged 9 to 22. Our only son is 15, but he is no longer in school because we cannot afford his school fees. There is no one to help his father but myself. My husband’s leg is paralyzed because he fell off the horse twice. Our third daughter is sitting her university entrance exam—she is the only child we are able to put through school with assistance from my eldest daughter who is living in New Zealand. “Our monthly income T$150, sometimes more, sometimes less, or nothing for weeks. We earn money from the sale of root crops that my son and I plant. We also plant paper mulberry to make tapa (a valued handicraft). Every week, my daughter beats enough paper mulberry to sell in the local market. “Every day, my son and I work at the plantation and collect food for the day. Then we help my daughter beat the paper mulberry for the weekend sales. These sales cover our daily needs such as soap, laundry detergent, sugar, flour, fish, and if we can afford it, other necessities. Although it is embarrassing for women to do activities traditionally done by men like till the soil, I would rather break tradition and keep my family afloat than starve, especially when all our relatives have their own families to care for. “I have to keep working hard for my family, look after my husband, encourage my children to finish their education, and find ways to put new flooring on our small house. Since my son is too young to earn, and there are no available jobs here, there is no one I can turn to. “I wish I could get some help to build a better home for my sick husband. Then maybe life would be a lot easier for me. And if the government and the church’s education system would allow drop-outs to go back to school, my two children would be able to complete their education. “At times I think that if we had kept the tradition our grandparents talked about—how everyone used to look after one another, I would not be so burdened. The sharing and caring are lost from Tonga. Now everyone is becoming individualistic.” The consensus view was that hardship, rather
than poverty, best described the condition in Tonga
since everyone seemed to have access to When asked if things have become better or worse over the past 5 years, two perceptions emerged. Most people perceived an improvement in their situation, citing increased numbers of permanent homes built; improved services; availability of skills training for women and youth; and better living conditions because of money earned from commercial farming. However, people also noted a declining trend from more school drop-outs; more joblessness; higher prices of goods; and deteriorating quality and/or rising costs of services (particularly water supply, education, roads, and transport). Two communities reasoned that hardship was becoming worse because of the higher cost of living and falling value of the Tongan paanga, as well as perceived in-fighting in the Parliament and waste of public funds.
Male “Drifter,” 27 Years Old
“I was born in Pangai Ha’apai. I went to primary school there, and went to Taufa’ahau and Pilolevu College up to Form 3 and continued to Liahona High School for Form 4 and up to Tech. I left school in 1998. I had an opportunity to work at the police station on contract for 3 months as an engineer. I earned T$100 a week from this contract. “My father died in 2000. My mother is still alive and is living with her sister at Havelu. There are three of us in the family. One is married and living with his family in Fasi. The other one is single and living at Ha’apai. “I am here because I went with some friends. I am currently living at a friend’s house. This friend is married with five children. We cook our own meals to avoid burdening our friend and his family. Sometimes I fix things around the house for free as thanks to them. “I am jobless right now and am still waiting for an opportunity to work, but am afraid that there are a lot of skilled workers and my qualifications do not meet the job requirements. “I wish that in the future, the government could set up a factory to employ people who cannot work in offices.”
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
© 2008 Asian Development Bank Privacy | Terms of Use |
 Top of page |
food.
Hardship due to limited access to markets, poorly
maintained or lack of rural roads, inadequate medical
supplies and trained staff, and the high cost of water
tanks and education services was believed to hinder
the people of Tonga from raising their standard of
living.
Back