Anita, Alex and Annabel Nicholson Memorial Fund

Atlas Foundation Asia & Anita, Alex & Annabel Nicholson Memorial Fund - Asia Regional Report

1. Fundraising

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!

Prior to the lifting of restrictions ‘Breaking Through in 22’ was organized as a ‘socially distanced’ event.  A group of supporters from the insurance community cycled, swan, walked or ran as many Kilometres as possible during the month of April, raising over £4,000! Thank you!

As things open up, we are currently looking into more events, runs and Gala dinner, all dates and details to be confirmed.

        2. Projects

Many of the projects we have targeted are now open allowing the children back to the rugby pitch, which is amazing to see.  We have never been more appreciative for some normality allowing these children access to sports, education and social support. The need has clearly not reduced during the Covid Pandemic but neither has our determination to find and support the poorest and most disadvantaged children in Asia.

Kampuchea Balop

We are currently entering our and final year of funding with Kampuchea Balopp.  We are excited to be looking at our partnership renewal to guarantee the longevity of our relationship. 

They have just completed their second social inclusion weekend which has been funded as a separate entity to our existing funding.  These give the mixed ability children within the program a chance to play rugby together and thrive!

They continue to do a great job of engaging and supporting children with significant disadvantages in Cambodia. 

Jungle Crows/Khelo Rugby

We are continuing to support Jungle Crows/Khelo rugby 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. 

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 Jungle Crows to create bespoke educational programs that can be delivered to the players at Jungle Crows. 

We are excited to have finalised the first stage of our educational pilot with Jungle Crows which is about to start any day!  The first part will involve 20 children in Kolkata.  We have funded 22 tablet devices to facilitate the pilot and have kindly been donated an educational online platform giving access for the students and teachers to facilitate this pilot without whom it would not be possible.  We would like to thank them for their kind donation for the software and the time and commitment given to get this pilot up and running. 

The educators have been trained in preparation for the launch to familiarise themselves with the educational platform.  Students will come 2-3 times a week and classes of up to an hour each (most likely 2 X 30 mins). Jungle Crows team will have teacher training access to be able to understand and interpret how to monitor each student

If this pilot proves to be a success, we plan to replicate the pilot in Saraswatipur. 

Le Tour ICB is a virtual cycling event that took place in March 2021 which managed to raise over £15,000, the money donated was specifically for Jungle Crows and Khelo Rugby and separate to any exciting or future funding.

Jungle Crows & Khelo Rugby requested to use the funds to replace two of their existing buses used to transport the children within the program, 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 Jungle Crows.   More details will follow in the next update.

Mixed Ability Rugby Singapore

With the easing of Covid restrictions here in Singapore we are excited to be embarking on a pilot program with a local school.  Initially this will run for 4 weeks with 15 junior children and 15 senior children in two separate sessions once a week for four weeks.  We are aiming to match this number with existing ruby players and coaches.  Initially we will be embracing Tag rugby.  We are excited to get this pilot off the ground.  The expected start date is August 2022!  More details 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.