A family-run gym at Slacks Creek emptied out their entire gym last week to hold a bootcamp at Meakin Park to fundraise for Tonga’s volcano victims.
More than 100 participants turned out on January 26 and raised more than $6,500 for people of Tonga impacted by the volcano eruption on January 15.
The carpark of Logan City Rugby Union Club was converted into an outdoor gym for the occasion, equipped with rowing ergs, ski ergs and battle ropes.
In the end, they managed to raise $6,587.10, made up of $5 entry fees and donations on the day.
Phiitkid Fitness owners Alex and Liz Fogavini used their gym equipment to put on the event.
“We loaded up the truck the night before, the truck slept inside my gym and we then setup on the morning,” he said.
“I prepared the workout to cater for 100 people, but it blew out.”
Following the lead of his friends in New Zealand who did something similar, Mr Fogavini felt empowered to do his bit for Tonga.
“In Tonga right now a lot of the villages are underwater, families have no shelter, and they are covered in ash,” he said.
“They are praying for rain to wash the ash away, and they’ve just got nothing.
Mr Fogavini, who is part Tongan and Samoan, cannot fathom what it would be like on the ground in Tonga currently.
“I’ve got three kids and if that was happening to my kids, who would I reach out to?” he said.
Mrs Fogavini said they are still actively fundraising and deciding how best to dedicate the money.
“We’re still fundraising because we are waiting to see if they need supplies or money,” she said.
“The ports and docks [in Tonga] aren’t open yet, so we need to wait a two to three weeks to for that to happen before we can send anything.”
Jim Chalmers’ office has encouraged people wanting to donate to set money aside and avoid GoFundMe pages, and to wait for the official fundraising streams from the Tongan Government.
“What we’re saying to people is to sit on it at the moment until the Tongan Government’s relief appeal page goes live,” a spokesperson for Mr Chalmers’ office said.
“The Tongan Government will be setting up an official appeals page, which will take a week or two to come online.”
