Tonga volcanic eruption and tsunami: First Credit Union gets behind support efforts

Waikato Tongan Community Charity Trust chairman Mefi Naufahu receives FCU's $10,000 donation from board member and HCC councillor Rob Pascoe and FCU staff member Ben Tonga. Photo / Supplied

Waikato finance and banking organisation First Credit Union has donated $10,000 to support Tonga after an eruption and tsunami destroyed crops, housing and livelihoods in the kingdom last month.

FCU's donation goes to the Waikato Tongan Community Charity Trust, which will use the funds to support a broader community response in Tonga and to send shipping containers with food.

FCU general manager Simon Scott said providing funding to help those in Tonga was its way of "supporting a community that supports us in their time of need" and also answers the call from Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate for Hamilton businesses to get alongside the Tongan community.

"First Credit Union as a financial co-op is built on people helping people, so it simply makes sense to make funds available."

He said some FCU staff have personally been affected by the eruption and tsunami because they have family in Tonga.

"Among our 50,000 members, we have a large Pasifika contingent. What happened in Tonga is devastating and we especially feel for our members with family back home."

Scott said the team at the Waikato Tongan Community Charity Trust was best placed to get the money to where it will make the most impact on the ground and where it will alleviate some of the pressure felt by the Waikato Tongan Community.

On FCU's behalf, the community trust will channel the funds in Tonga where they can be used most effectively, including shipping support containers with food to Tonga.

FCU has been providing banking services, mortgages and personal loans to its communities since 1955 and has proudly been helping everyday Kiwis succeed for more than 65 years.

To support the Waikato Tongan Community Charity Trust, you can make a monetary donation to the following account: 03 1557 0235055 000