By Ella Gibbs | Marketing and Communications Officer
Atlas Foundation Asia & Anita, Alex & Annabel Nicholson Memorial Fund - Asia Regional Report
With the many restrictions in Singapore lifted The Anita, Alex and Annabel Nicholson Memorial Fund are excited to be looking at Fundraising events over the next coming year!
We are currently looking into more events, runs and Gala dinner, all dates and details to be confirmed.
As projects and areas find a new norm following the Covid Pandemic, the need for help and support has clearly not been reduced but neither has our determination to find and support the poorest and most disadvantaged children in Asia.
Kampuchea Balop
As we enter our final year of funding with Kampuchea Balopp. We are excited to be looking at our partnership renewal to guarantee the longevity of our relationship. The team have recently had the opportunity to visit the project in action. Travelling to Oudong where the Anita, Alex & Annabel Nicholson Memorial Fund sponsors an All-Schools programme, taking rugby into the schools as part of the children’s PE program. The team managed to visit two of the five schools.
What shone through all of the sessions they saw was the caring enthusiasm, energy and know how from the KB educators and the absolute enjoyment on view from every one of the children.
These children have so little but thanks to KB they now have rugby. The rugby values of teamwork, respect for themselves and the team/classmates. It was also great to see so many girls engaged alongside the boys.
They continue to do a great job of engaging and supporting children with significant disadvantages in Cambodia.
Khelo Rugby
We are excited to be entering a new funding agreement with Khelo Rugby, we are continuing to support this project and are looking to build on the past relationship with them and support the growth of the fantastic work they do in Kolkota and other parts of India.
As we finalise the agreement, the application for funding has been split into four parts allowing the Foundation to support the day to day running of the project bringing Rugby to an underprivileged community providing far more than just sport. Behind it lying the ethos and values of rugby. We are also excited to be embarking on the opportunity of a scholarship program for secondary school children as well as university scholars. This is a fantastic opportunity to make a systematic change, the funding will go some way to helping disadvantage children not only through rugby but also contribute through education making a grass route change and facilitating these children within the community
The ethos of khelo Rugby is to provide mentorship and support throughout the programme so these scholarships will penetrate far wider then the individual themselves they will benefit a community as a whole as they help and tutor younger peers.
The Anita, Alex and Annabel Nicholson Memorial Fund have been seeking ways to leverage knowledge of the educational sector in Asia to help identify several potential partners who will work with The Anita, Alex and Annabel Memorial Fund and Khelo Rugby to create bespoke educational programs that can be delivered to the players at khleo Rugby.
The first part of this pilot started in August 2022, with an exciting horizon. Due to the recent success of the GlobalGiving “Little by Little” campaign we raised enough funds for 15 extra seats in our pop-up classrooms. We intend to extend this to 20 seats and replicate the project in Saraswatipur with the hope that we can engage with a cohort of 8-10year olds along with an additional cohort of older children at different times using the same devices.
We would like to thank Studycat for their kind donation for the software and the time and commitment given to get this pilot up and running. With their continued support they have provided the educational online platform giving access for the students and teachers to facilitate this pilot without whom it would not be possible.
We will keep you updated with our progress.
Le Tour ICB is a virtual cycling event that took place in March 2021 Khelo Rugby requested to spend the funds raised to replace two of their existing buses, we are delighted to announce the arrival of these buses! These buses will be used to transport the children within the programme, adding to the resources for the children and pushing the availability of the program through the communities that they serve.
In addition, in the spirit of cycling the remaining funds have been used for their cycle workshop, four mountain bikes in Saraswatipur and two road bikes for use in Kolkata. We look forward to hearing about their progress!
Cebu Dragons Rugby Club
We have been in discussion with a Cebu Dragons Rugby and Football Club in the Philippines for some time with a view to supporting the expansion of their community outreach work. The club has an outreach programme for underprivileged children in local communities, including children from the local orphanage and a school for children with special educational needs. These discussions have been put on hold due to Covid lockdowns. Following the relief aid sent earlier this year in response to the Typoon disaster in December 2021, we are currently waiting for further instructions for engagement with this well-deserved project.
Sri Lanka Project
We are also beginning to revive the plans for a project in Sri Lanka, in partnership with Khelo Rugby. More details will follow in the next update.
Mixed Ability Rugby Singapore
As we are approach the end of a successful pilot programme, we Initially planned to run for a 4 weeks programme with 15 junior children and 15 senior children from a local special educational support school mixed with International secondary school, with the aim to match number wise as much as possible. Following the successful for everyone involved we were delighted to be able to extend this by a further two weeks.
The Programme has given both parties an open appreciation for the commitment and the ethos of rugby. They have all forged new friendships as well as enjoying and learning the principles of rugby and the power behind the game and its commitment to community and change. It has proved to be an amazing experience for everyone involved. More details and plans to follow!
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people that offered support for our events and projects whether that has been in participating physically or supporting financially or both. We are extremely grateful. With your support we can strive to help to some of the poorest children in Asia, giving them the chance to thrive.
By Abbey Marchington | Marketing and Communications Officer
By Abbey Marchington | Marketing and Communications Officer
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