Help us support Rochelle & Ben’s family

**Update***

We have now discovered we will be unable to bring Rochelle and Ben home. While this is very sad, where Rochelle and Ben have been buried is beautiful. With the sea on either side, they are blessed to remain close to their island ‘family’. The hope is for the NZ Families to be able to visit them one

day.

Rochelle and Ben died in a tragic accident in the Vava'u Islands, Tonga. I am Rochelle's cousin and am trying to help Aunty Lynn’s and Ben’s families raise enough money to bring their bodies and important personal effects home to New Zealand. We understand we may not be able to get them home in the short term but we need help to sort their affairs.

After 2 years of the pandemic decimating their tourist business, getting through the Tongan volcano eruption and being currently in one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, Rochelle and Ben were trying to plan for the future. They were repairing their tourist boat when something went terribly wrong and they died instantly. Sadly due to the lockdown it took a week for their bodies to be discovered by a friend.

Due to the remoteness of the Vava'u Islands alongside the recent eruption and current lockdown in Tonga, logistically to get them or their personal items home is going to be difficult. Thank you for your help from the families