Van-for-TVNIA
Fe'ofa'aki Leka of TNVIA © 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.The Tonga National Visual Impairment Association (TNVIA) is a beacon of hope for the visually impaired in Tonga. This non-profit organization is dedicated to promoting inclusion and independence for those with visual impairments. Recently, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated a 16-passenger van, office furniture, and a computer to TNVIA.
The founder, Ofeina Leka, expressed gratitude for the van. “I am so thankful for [the Church’s] support. We needed a new van. On that day I went home, and when we had our family devotional, I could not stop my tears. I only cry when my heart is full of joy. When I thought back over this process, I remembered how hard it was to get the first van. And this one came without any fundraising. I told my board members that this is a blessing for us.”
‘Ofeina’s journey began when he lost his sight at age 11 after a rugby accident. At the time, blind children were not accepted in Tongan schools, so his brother taught him at home the lessons he learned in school during the day. At age 17, his father died in a car accident on Christmas day which left the young man without support. ’Ofeina attended school, taking notes and recording lessons, and eventually graduated from a local university with a business degree.
TNVIA has grown to 60 members and in March of 2024 ‘Ofeina was appointed as an Inclusion Education Officer by the Ministry of Education for the Kingdom of Tonga, helping blind children integrate into government schools.