New school closures, but the same old determination to keep our students educated
New school closures, but the same old determination to keep our students educated
It’s been a time of fresh challenges for Cambodia and ISF. After a year where the country was spared the worst health impacts of COVID-19, the last two months has unfortunately seen a surge in cases and – tragically – the first deaths. Although these rates are still lower than in most countries, there is increased fear and new restrictions and precautionary measures have been brought in by the Government. That has included schools closing again.
We were relieved to welcome students back at the start of the year, to once more hear the sounds of children learning, laughing, and chatting throughout our classrooms. Now our learning centres are again quiet.
Even though this is a difficult situation and many of our teachers and coaches live in communities directly affected by the virus outbreaks, they refused to become demoralised and indeed redoubled their efforts to keep our students’ educations alive. Having pioneered remote learning initiatives during the early days of the pandemic, we were quickly able to resume our blended approach featuring both printed homework and online learning through a range of apps including Zoom, Telegram and Facebook.
Our students can access learning materials online or by dropping by our learning centres to pick up study materials in a carefully managed, COVID-safe handover. Regular tests ensure that we become aware of any students who start to fall behind, so we can provide extra support. We also make sure that students don’t fall through the cracks by arranging regular phone calls and chat groups, also a valuable way of ensuring children don’t feel isolated and depressed during this testing time.
"Online learning is a whole new experience for me. At first, I found it very challenging to make out of my online class. Now I feel comfortable and could catch up well with lessons thanks to a group of dedicated state school teachers and ISF social workers."
“Unlike the first time our schools closed, we are well prepared,” says Seiha Kong, who leads ISF’s Chbar Ampov school. “It is a new challenge but in fact I think it brings us together closely and makes us stronger, we are determined not to give up, to fight together.”
Of course, the pandemic’s impact goes wider than just education. Many of our student’s families are among the most vulnerable to the virus, living in crowded slum areas where sanitation is often inadequate. There have already been many cases in the communities we serve, including among children. Our staff do their best to help families to understand the precautions they can take, and to act as good role models.
Unfortunately, many families have lost some or all of their income as a result of the pandemic’s economic impact. “Most families worry about their livelihood,” says Seiha. “Around 95% have lost money because of Covid-19. Some families are really struggling to pay their rent. Other families are really frightened of catching COVID-19 but cannot stay home, they have to leave to earn money and survive.”
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Our social workers are doing all they can to support these families, just as they did during the early days of the pandemic. That might mean negotiating cheaper rents, accessing Government aid, or finding new work – but with these pressures and a climate of fear in some parts of Phnom Penh it’s unsurprising that many families have decided to leave the city. In just one of our schools, community workers estimate that 55 families have returned to the provinces until the situation is returning to normal. Our duty is to stay in contact with these families and to keep their children engaged in education, so that they can return to our classrooms when they are open again, rather than dropping out forever.
Asked about the closures, Seiha is remarkably upbeat. “We have the resources, equipment and plans in place to help children learn, now we just need to make sure that parents and students also adapt with us,” she says. “We will stay focused on the long term goal, which is strengthening education and making sure all of our students can catch up on education they missed earlier in their lives so that they have a brighter life ahead. We just have to adapt our approach, until the crisis is over.”
