Tongan civil engineer changing the world one step at a time
Having graduated with a Master’s degree in civil engineering, Tongan woman Mele ‘Ofa-Ki-Vila Mafi is helping her country deal with its infrastructure challenges.
Mele ‘Ofa-Ki-Vila Mafi is the lead engineer for the landfill expansion project at Tapuhia Quarry, in the Village of Vaini, Tongatapu
Mele ‘Ofa, as she likes to be called, is using a measuring wheel to collect ground measurements in preparation for the new landfill, when we catch up with her.
“So what we’re currently constructing is a cell… the rubbish will go into the cell,” Mele ‘Ofa explains.
“But inside the cell, there’s a first clay layer, like what we are looking at right now.”
As one of only a few lead female engineers in the country, she takes her job seriously.
“I am the project engineer for this construction so that involves, like, making sure that construction is on track, dividing the tasks and the work within the team and just trying to make sure that what we’re actually constructing here on site matches the plans that we are given,” she says.
“Sometimes the plans do not meet the site conditions, so that’s when we come in as engineers, we try and negotiate with the project management unit of the best solutions that we can address the problems with.”
Mele ‘Ofa knows the importance of making sure the expansion of the landfill is done to a high standard because it will affect communities and the environment.
“The landfill is an important part of our lives, you know, of our communities.
“If we don’t have a landfill, where else are we going to put the rubbish? There’s going to be pollution and, you know, a better, cleaner Tonga needs a nice landfill, so I’m happy to be able to contribute to that.”
A high achiever, in 2019 she was head girl and Dux of Tonga High School before travelling to Aotearoa on a scholarship.
Mele ‘ofa is a great example of Tonga’s investment in her, with her Masters in Civil Engineering under her belt, coming full circle.
“I moved back to Tonga at the beginning of the year. Currently contracted under Petani Civil Works as the project engineer,” she says.
“And, these two companies are also run by two females so that’s progress in Tonga and that’s something that we really want to see, especially with women empowerment being a pressing issue nowadays.”
She was also a recipient of the Prime Minister’s Pacific Youth Award and only last year the Spinoff Media platform named her one of 25 young wāhine and tāhine changing the world.
“Five years seemed like the longest time of my life in New Zealand, but, you know, it just led me back here to Tonga and I’m grateful for this opportunity to help contribute to our society, our country, and make sure that, you know, we have the proper infrastructure,” Mele ‘ofa says.
“Tonga is number four most vulnerable to climate change in the world. It’s critical that we have the infrastructures that we need in order to adapt to these changes. And I think to be a part of that, to be a part of that work and contributing to our communities is actually a beautiful thing, like working at Tapuhia,” she says proudly.
Contributing to changing the mindset and breaking the mold paving the way in women’s engineering.
‘It’s a cultural change for us Pacific women to be seen on site as project engineers, as civil engineers as, you know, doing all stuff, that… were dominated by men.
“But I know there’s quite a few of us Tongan girls that have resorted to this kind of work, and I’m hoping that, you know, by doing this, the younger Tongan girls would look up to it and be like, okay, if she can do it, then I can do it.”
*Quotes have been slightly edited for clarity.
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