Dear Mr. Loani Tahitu’a,

Hope everything goes well. On January 14 and 15, local time in the Kingdom of Tonga, a volcanic eruption occurred on the island of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, and communication with the outside world was once interrupted on a large scale, which seriously affected the production and life of the Tongan people. All staff of the World Association of Abacus and Mental Arithmetic (WAAMA) are deeply saddened by the inconvenience and loss caused to your association by the volcanic eruption. Here, we would like to express our deep concern and sympathy to all the staff of your association.

As a member unit of the WAAMA, the Tonga Soroban Education Association actively supports the work of the WAAMA and has made extraordinary contributions to the development of the WAAMA. In October 2019, Mr. Loani Tahitu’a attended the 40th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Chinese Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Association and the International Academic Symposium on Abacus Science and Culture, and made a speech entitled "Making Abacus and Mental Arithmetic a Compulsory Course in Primary Schools is the Right Choice for the Royal Government of Tonga", sharing the practical experience of Abacus and Mental Arithmetic in Tonga, which is still fresh in our memories.

Helping each other and sharing weal and woe is a good tradition for all abacus practitioners of the WAAMA. In the face of natural disasters caused by volcanic eruptions and their impact, we sincerely hope that the production and life of the Tongan people will return to normal, and the cause of abacus education in Tonga will continue to develop. We would like to maintain close contact with you and your association, and provide support and assistance to your association in its work.

We sincerely wish you and all the staff of your association safe and healthy. Let us look forward to the future when winds are calm and waves turn tranquil, and the spring flowers blossom, and then we could resume our good relations through the cause of abacus.

World Association of Abacus and Mental Arithmetic

January 19, 2022