A few years ago, TESOL alumna Chiara Collette Hassett (MA '21) together with her husband and UMBC alumnus Michael Hassett (M.P.P. '17 and Ph.D. '19) founded Friends of Tonga, a group dedicated to facilitating ongoing collaborations between Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and communities in Tonga . Chiara serves as the program manager who implements its educational activities. Among the projects they have led or supported is a Video Resource Library of people recording themselves reading diverse children’s books aloud in English. The recordings are aligned with Tongan school curriculum and are made available for local teachers to supplement gaps in their hard copy libraries. Friends of Tonga has now been recognized for their work with a Literacy Award from the Library of Congress, which includes $5,000 to support their initiatives.
Read the press release here:
Read more about the Friends of Tonga here: