Friends of Tonga

21/10/2026

Mālō ʻaupito 531 for featuring our work and highlighting our community-led water security, climate resilience, and school construction projects across Tonga. We are deeply grateful for the leadership of the Civil Society Forum of Tonga, No Pelesitiki Campaign, and Tonga National Youth Congress as this award truly belongs to the local communities, partners, and supporters who make this impact possible.

From saving food after the 2022 tsunami to installing rainwater, the partnership puts local people in charge of solutions.

20/10/2026

🇹🇴 Interested in teaching and experiencing life in the South Pacific?

The Peace Corps is recruiting Elementary and Middle School English Teachers in Tonga! Volunteers work alongside Tongan educators and communities to strengthen English literacy, support students, and promote learning through tutoring, clubs, and other activities.

Many Friends of Tonga board members served as Corps Tonga Volunteers in Tonga, an experience that helped build lasting connections with the Kingdom and its people.

📅 Apply by November 15, 2026
🛫Depart for Tonga: June 14, 2027
🤝Commitment: Two years, plus three months of training

A bachelor's degree in any field meets the education requirement, and no prior Tongan language experience is needed.

🔗 Learn more and apply: https://www.peacecorps.gov/ways-to-serve/service-assignments/browse-opportunities/peace-corps-volunteer/elementary-and-middle-school-english-teacher-10147br/

17/10/2026

Well done, Tonga Rugby League! ♥

STATEMENT MADE! WHERE THE PARADES AT🇹🇴

14/10/2026

Grateful to Public Interest Registry for sharing this video and helping tell the story of the work happening in Tonga.

This work belongs to the Tongan communities and local partners who lead it. We're glad to have the opportunity to share a little of what we've learned from working alongside them.

14/10/2026

Thank you, John Nicholas Pulu , for having us on PMN Tonga! We’re grateful for the opportunity to share what Friends of Tonga and the Civil Society Forum of Tonga have been working on together.

Partnerships like this are built on trust, shared commitment, and the leadership of people in Tonga.

Thank you for helping us share that story with your audience. Mālō ‘aupito!

10/10/2026

What can come from winning a .ORG Impact Award? In our case, the opportunity to share our story through this video. 🎥

Winning the Environmental Stewardship category at the 2026 .ORG Impact Awards opened this door for Friends of Tonga. Public Interest Registry (PIR) made this video possible, giving us an opportunity to share more about our work and the communities we’re honored to support.

As a volunteer-run nonprofit, we simply wouldn’t have had the skills or resources to create something like this on our own. We’re incredibly grateful to PIR for making this opportunity possible, Carlton Sugarman and Stefanie Bockenstette of Sugarman Productions for coordinating and producing the video, and Matthew R. for filming with us in Maryland. The team also coordinated a film crew’s trip to Tonga to interview our partners on the ground, including the Civil Society Forum of Tonga!

We hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch and share this video. More than anything, we hope it brings greater attention to Tonga, the communities we love, and the local leaders and partners working every day toward a more resilient future for their islands.

Our approach is simple: communities lead, we support. We’re fortunate to walk alongside the people making this work happen.

Mālō ‘aupito to everyone who helped bring this story to life!

09/10/2026

Drought declared in parts of Tonga is a reminder of the challenges communities face as climate conditions change.

This is why expanding access to clean water and providing rainwater cisterns are priorities for Friends of Tonga. Reliable access to water is essential, and investing in locally led solutions that help communities prepare for increasingly difficult conditions is an important part of building climate resilience.

There is still much work to do to strengthen water security across Tonga.

Read more from RNZ Pacific:

The Tonga Meteorological Service has declared drought across all major islands that make up the kingdom, including Tongatapu, Niuatoputapu, Ha'apai and 'Eua.

08/10/2026

♥🇹🇴

07/10/2026

When Friends of Tonga was named a finalist for the 2026 .ORG Impact Award for Environmental Stewardship, we were honestly just grateful to be included. There were more than 4,200 submissions from around the world, and we were one of five organizations recognized in the category. It was an honor to be in a room with so many incredible changemakers who are doing incredible work in communities around the world.

Friends of Tonga is incredibly honored to receive the 2026 .ORG Impact Award for Environmental Stewardship. 🇹🇴🌱

But this award is much bigger than us.

We are grateful to the communities and community members in Tonga who have invited us to work alongside them and who continue to lead the way. We are especially grateful to the Civil Society Forum of Tonga, Schools for the Children of the World, No Pelesitiki Campaign - Kingdom of Tonga, and Peace Corps Tonga for the many ways they have partnered with us over the years.

We are also grateful to our volunteers who give their time and skills, our board, our donors, and everyone who has supported Friends of Tonga since we started in 2018.

From rainwater cisterns and mangrove planting to climate-resilient kindergartens, the work has always started with a simple idea: communities lead, we support.

Thank you to Public Interest Registry and the .ORG Impact Awards for recognizing this work and for giving us the opportunity to share a little bit of Tonga with the world. And thank you to Karamo for hosting such a wonderful evening and helping make the night so memorable.

We are humbled, grateful, and very proud to carry this recognition home to Tonga.

Mālō 'aupito to everyone who has been part of the journey. 🇹🇴

03/10/2026

☀️ Sun, Service, and Stories: Our Fall 2026 Newsletter

Our annual newsletter is here!

Sun, Service, and Stories takes a look at the past year of Friends of Tonga, including the work happening in communities across Tonga, some big changes for our organization, and a few things we’re pretty proud of.

Inside, you’ll find:

🇹🇴 A look at our work and impact in Tonga, from climate-resilient schools and rainwater projects to environmental work, education, and community partnerships

🤝 Our new co-presidency model and what’s ahead for Friends of Tonga

🏆 Friends of Tonga’s 2026 .ORG Impact Awards finalist recognition for Environmental Stewardship

🌱 Stories from our partners and communities, including our work with Baltimore Ravens great Haloti Ngata and his family during their visit to Tonga

📊 Our annual financial report, including where our funding went and how we’re supporting this work

Take a look at Sun, Service, and Stories and catch up on what’s been happening with Friends of Tonga over the past year.

And, as always, thank you for being part of our community and supporting our work. You make this possible.

We are pleased to share our Fall 2026 e-Newsletter, Sun, Service, and Stories. Inside you will find news of our selection as a finalist for the 2026 .ORG Impact Awards, a welcome to our new Co-President Daniella DeLaRue, updates on Peace Corps Partnership Program projects across the Kingdom, our sch...