TheTekilati and ‘Ofa Fisi’italia family have a productive chicken coop at their home in Ha’akame, Tonga. In September 2017 the whole family joined in the project of building a chicken coop with wire provided by LDS Charities, the humanitarian arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Branches were cut from the bush to use as posts. Wire was then rolled out and nailed to the posts. A door was built to go in and out and then laying boxes.
With chickens provided by the New Zealand Division of Livestock the family raised up eighteen hens and three roosters. Each hen now lays at least one egg daily, sometimes two. Eggs have now been added into the family’s diet as a nutritional benefit.
Teki and ‘Ofa are the parents of six children. Their family continues to learn the value of work as they clean the coop, feed and water the chickens, and gather the eggs. The children then take the eggs to the little Tongan store in the village close to their home to sell. Proceeds from the egg sales are used to purchase all the children’s school books and materials and school uniforms.
