New cyclone resilient classrooms for Takuilau College [1]
Wednesday, December 2, 2020 - 18:54. Updated on Thursday, December 3, 2020 - 11:33.
By Eleanor Gee
Three new classroom buildings for Takuilau College were commissioned by Australian High Commissioner HE Adrian Morrison today, 2 December.
One building has three classrooms, while the other two contain four classrooms each, with one including a store room. The new buildings were reconstructed to high cyclone resilient standards.
The school's buildings were badly damaged when Tropical Cyclone Gita hit Tonga in February 2018.
The construction of the buildings cost over TOP$1.7 million under the Pacific Resilience Project, co-funded by the World Bank and the Australian Government.
In his keynote speech, HE Adrian Morrison said Australia was very pleased to be supporting the resilience project.
He asked the Takuilau College staff to pass on his best wishes to the students, who are currently on holidays.
“Please ask the students to make the most of these new facilities. Please ask them to make the most of the opportunity they are offered.”
“Because if they study hard, if they work hard, they will be rewarded. And they will be able to improve their lives and the lives of their families and they will make a significant contribution to their community and to their country.”
“Please make the most of these new classrooms.”
Takuilau College Principal Sitani Paulo was very pleased with the new classrooms.
He said for the last three years since the classrooms were destroyed, they have been teaching students in tents, under large trees, on verandahs when it rained, including his residence.
“I can’t wait for the next academic year to start so the students can use these new classrooms.”
He added that the new buildings are much stronger than the previous ones and can be used by the community for shelter from future cyclones if needed.
The buildings were built by Sunshine Construction, a Tongan company, and design and supervision by Cardno, an Australian company.
Takuilau College is one of 25 schools receiving assistance under the $28 million pa’anga Pacific Resilience Project to repair and reconstruct damaged classrooms and buildings.