Cover photo taken by Courtney Foliaki
Bears Without Borders is a community engagement program that is built into the Menlo-Atherton Football program. Every year, the program concludes with a two week trip to the Kingdom of Tonga, where the students spend time with the children of the Talafo’ou Middle School. So far the program has only travelled to Tonga, but Courtney Foliaki, the Visuals and Marketing Coordinator for Bears Without Borders, said that “Once we’ve established a foundation of the program in Tonga, we will look to expand into other parts of the South Pacific Islands.”
Foliaki also said the program gives students a new outlook on life. She explained “a recurring response from our student impact-leaders has been the appreciation for the intangible, such as caring for one another, and the relationships they formed, regardless of language differences.” More information about the program can be found on their instagram account @bearswithoutborders or by email to [email protected].
