INCLUSION:- Livelihood Program reach out to person living with disabilities.

Tonga National Youth Congress (TNYC) livelihood program is funded by New Zealand AID fund through Oxfam New Zealand and Tear Fund. One of the key factors of the livelihood program is helping people living with disabilities.

After the piloting stage at Nakolo, that shows great success of families not depending on getting their vegetables from the market but grow, harvest their own vegetable and serve their families with organic vegetables.

“I love this program for it has help provide healthy organic vegetable to our table” said Saane one of the mothers from Nakolo “another great value of the program is not just my family is the only one eating out of the garden even our neighbours pick out fruits from the garden and serve it to their families”.

With the program being successful in villages that it has touch, now the livelihood program is reaching people living with disabilities, for this task TNYC is working together with Naunau ‘oe ‘Alamaite Tonga Association (NATA).

“The livelihood program has always considered people living with disabilities a top priority” said Navuso Tuaimei’api “yes our timing may seem a bit late distributing to people living with disabilities, but this was due for some kind of trial and error on our seed bed and seedling in our nursery house. So the ICS and Livelihood team had to replant everything and get it ready so it can be distributed as we see here today”.

The livelihood program will reach out to 17 disabilities person’s giving them the opportunity to grow their own vegetable garden and can help cut down the cost of the his/her family in buying vegetables from the market.

“I thank the Lord for blessing me with such opportunity that I may grow my own vegetables” said one of the mothers “these vegetable will help me and my family not only to to put healthy food to our table but it surely will help cut down our spending in buying vegetables from the market for it is getting expensive. I like eating vegetables but since the vegetable in the market are getting expensive for us we kind took a step back however now we can grow our own organic vegetable garden yes we are looking forward to once again have vegetables on our table”.

“I’m just overwhelm with joy when I get my organic vegetables seeds” said ‘Aisea Pahulu “Im so happy that I’m already looking forward to the harvest day. I love tomato but it can be frustrating when I go to the market to buy a tomato pack and the quantity just don’t counterpart with the prize. All of that is now pass, for now I can grow my own tomato and eat as much as I want so I’m already looking forward to the harvest day”.