SUVA, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- About 14,000 Tongan children will be able to resume classes soon with the arrival of new emergency education supplies provided by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on Wednesday.
According to Matangi, Tonga's leading news website, the supplies flown in from Fiji on Wednesday included tents to be used as temporary classrooms, teaching and learning supplies such as early childhood development kits, school-in-a-box, recreation kits, and backpacks for affected students.
"UNICEF is supporting the Ministry of Education and Training in Tonga to reach thousands of children affected by this disaster by bringing the classrooms to the children after their schools were damaged in the cyclone," said UNICEF Pacific Representative Sheldon Yett.
Yett said that education supplies are the key to ensure that most vulnerable children in the South Pacific Island state can return to school and regain a sense of normalcy. These supplies will help Tongan students and teachers to resume classes as soon as possible.
An assessment led by the Tongan government states that at least 129 classrooms in 83 primary and secondary schools were damaged in the tropical cyclone that hit Tonga last week. 32,000 children were reportedly impacted by the cyclone.