The year 2021 was highly affected by the pandemic, and all of our education was stopped several times due to lockdown. We were afraid of the effect the situation would have on our children, and started planning a solution to keep the school going since we were unsure on how long the lockdown would last.
At first we thought to start with online tutoring, but the reality was that very few homes had any digital unit for their children to use for school. Instead we came up with a solution to bring the school to our children. We divided each home into 13 areas where we sent a teacher to meet the children in cohorts. This way we could provide uninterrupted education for our kids through most of the year.
There were unfortunately not all the of children who came back in the beginning of tutoring. So our field staff visited each and every house and met with their parents to engage the children to participate in the cohort solution, and again explain the values of education. At the end ofthe year, we got back almost all the children.
Visiting houses itself was very difficult for us - to witness their living experience, especially for the families who had lost their work and income. Since our children no longer got cooked meals at the school, we decided to distribute the food home to the students where they could eat the meals with their parents.
We are grateful for our dedicated staff that not only provides our children education, but also takes care for their wellbeing, moral values and engages in community development. Occasionally our field staff and teaching staff meet with the parents after class to listen to their home situations and discuss their children's development.
We are looking back at a year with many challenges and a pandemic that has highly affected our children's lives. But we are also grateful for the contact we now have with each of our children's families and the deeper understanding of their home surroundings. The support we get has made us able to take a larger part in their communities and provide a little for those who got a much harder life due to the pandemic.