 The affected we grew up on an island means we have been surrounded by the sea all our lives. From our first walk by the beach, our first swim, our first sketch to our first tsunami. The sea has always been part of our lives. It has provided livelihood as a source of income. It has taken lives and still we live side by side noticing that every day it comes a little close to shore and rise a little higher than before. Sea level rises are concerned that people are more aware of every day. For a small developing country like us, we learn to be resilient and cope with this issue and the sea itself is life to us. From the last study we have had here in Donga the sea level rises about six millimeters per year. So we have predicted by the 10th of the century it will be something like five or six meters and we have started you know sending to see those coastal areas being taken out by the sea. So when the tsunami came these are the vulnerable areas that we have already identified. It has proven us that sea level rise is very very devastating. Climate change affects everyone, more so when you live on an island. Where the sea is your backyard and even more so when it comes crashing, rising to heights taller than you in full force destroying everything in its path. When the waves died down the deceased son asked if we can come down from the mountain and look for his father. So we came down in search for quite some time but with no luck. The son decided that it was too dangerous for us to continue surging so we went back to the mountain. When we finally came down from the mountain we could not tell where our houses used to be even the symmetries disappeared everything was gone. When the third wave hit my wife and I got separated the roof of the house collapsed there was a fridge on top of me and one side of the wall was coming down bending me to the floor. When the waves came I started running to higher ground and I remembered my grandpa. I turned back to head home and get him. I was ready to give my life just to be with him and save him if I could. When I reached home I held him. Our house was completely destroyed I carried him and started running. When we reached the LDS building the second wave came I picked him up and we climbed on top of a water tank. We stayed there till the water died down then we made our way to the high slope where the village were gathering. When the wave reached our house I reached for my mother's hand and we headed to the door. The wave was strong I could not hold on to her hand and we got separated I could not find her after that. The next morning around 9 a.m. I found my mother alive surrounded by water she was standing and holding on to a branch of a far tree. Disasters like this may not have been caused by sea level rise but it sure had caused an impact in the pond and just between these people and their friend and the sea. We were gathered at our church when the wave came we saw it coming it did not head straight to where we were it came on the sides after the first wave we rendered a high slope in the bush and stayed the night there we came back the next morning our house was gone only a few home were still standing I was carrying my son who was crying seeing people running for their lives I remembered I was wearing a dupe with the moment I took it off and wrapped it around his waist and tying himself to me I was thinking that if he got caught in the waves I can still hold on to him I'll never forget this day especially seeing our children this way life will never be the same for every Tongan who experienced a might of the sea on January 15th 2022 but life will go on and once again we will learn to live in such close proximity with the sea we will do what we can to protect our shores our livelihood while being fully aware of the sea level rising after the tsunami we had no means of income because we were told not to sell our usual cash due to the dangers from the ash rain but we had to eat so we just got seafood for our families when the miniature fisheries allowed selling of seafood we made a lot of money and because sea life was abundant after the tsunami it was good for business the sea has provided for us for years it has put our children through school and more yet the sea has changed after the tsunami it has become deeper during high tide you can see the difference now from before the reef has become smaller you can see right through it to the open sea during low tide I think we all have our differences as some want to leave this place but some want to stay I would really like to see the foreshore fixed and made stronger than it is now that would help keep us safe when the sea keeps rising my family live inland a little further from here but even back then the sea is there the government has been helping us for years now bringing in truckloads of rocks to help keep the water down and out we know it won't last long the sea keeps coming this has been the saddest day for everyone of us here at our village we have never seen anything like this in our generation right now we're just grateful to be alive we don't count what's has been lost to us we try to see the code in all these maybe clean up a little we have noticed the rise of sea level living here at Kano Kupolu we can tell by the tides over the years it has become more aggressive and comes a little close to show we built a foreshore wall but the tides gets through them over the years then we planted the mangroves over the years that was quite successful yet a few grew and survived while others died you can see other trees on the shore that we planted which helps keep the tides in but not all the time the recent tsunami swept tearing our coastal god leaving us vulnerable to the open sea the trees that kept us safe for years have been uprooted making it possible for the tides to easily come crawling to land it was the same problem with the other coastal side of the village the waves come crashing through the mangroves and pass the foreshore to come inland so now when it is high tide the sea comes inland and stay there instead of going back like before it build a more water area inland which is very concerning to us we need to start rebuilding mangroves and building higher foreshore to keep the tides from reaching land At the end of the day, the sea sings to the islander. The islander hums back in response, and all is well again, until the next morning, when they wake up with the same problem, they will find ways to go access and survive while they have been doing for centuries.