The Atlas Foundation has generously donated £4,204 GBP ($5,450 USD) to Friends of Tonga to support the construction of a weather resistant kindergarten located in the northern island group of Vava’u. Their generous donation will help provide both the skilled labor and the materials needed to supply electricity to the school.
Located in the United Kingdom, the Atlas Foundation exists to support the world’s most disadvantaged children. It uses rugby as a vehicle to provide programming and services that target communities’ most significant barriers. Through strategic partnerships with local communities and international organizations, the Atlas Foundation has supported 192,347 children across 19 countries. We are proud to be their latest partner and for Tonga to be the 20th country they have chosen to support!
This generosity could not come at a better time. Climate change is an ever-present risk to educational achievement in Tonga and across the entire South Pacific. After any severe weather event, students across impacted communities spend less time in classrooms while the community recovers and rebuilds. As highlighted in UNESCO’s 2023 Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication and Education Project (MECCE) profile for Tonga, constructing weather resistant schools is one way to ensure students have more days in the classroom and better educational outcomes in spite of increased risk with climate change.
A big malo (thank you) to the Atlas Foundation for helping us provide Tongan students with a safe learning environment and for helping combat climate change’s impact on educational achievement across the Kingdom of Tonga!