Out of sight, not out of mind

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the education centers we support in Lebanon have been closed for the past three months. Thanks to the motivation and hard work of the educators, we have helped them implement distance learning, enabling about 1,200 out-of-school children to continue receiving quality education from their homes. The many challenges faced in this process came with unexpected encouragement and reasons to rejoice.

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Out of sight, not out of mind

The COVID-19 crisis and subsequent lockdown forced us to completely rethink the way we help provide education to the children enrolled in our partner learning centers in Lebanon. We were amazed to see how motivated and creative the educators and teachers have been, even though it meant more work for them. Sarah, coordinator of an education center, remembers:

“When the lockdown and closure of all schools were decided in March, we were not really prepared. Besides, we had no idea it was going to last for so long. Still, we started to organize ourselves to record and send lessons to the children so they can continue to learn from home. It was frustrating at times for the teachers, because they needed to do a lot of follow-up to make sure the children were involved. But most of the children were very excited when they started receiving lessons and homework.”

Soon after the beginning of the nationwide lockdown and closure of schools, most of our partner education centers had started sending working material to the children via WhatsApp. Quickly, they organized themselves to continue teaching Arabic, Math, and English to the children through tutorials, worksheets, videos, prerecorded audio lessons, as well as providing educational material about COVID-19 and basic safety and hygiene measures.

Some centers have also been able to continue providing extra curriculum activities like arts and crafts, as well as protection and psychosocial support activities targeting both the children and their parents. Sarah confirms:

 

“We tried to involve parents as much as possible. We had two groups of mothers with whom we had weekly calls to discuss specific topics, like expressing one’s feelings, or handling stress. They were eagerly waiting for this moment to vent out and express their fatigue and frustrations.”

 

With the challenges came reasons to rejoice

Distance learning comes with many challenges for any school. But for the education centers we work with, you need to add the “poverty” factor: almost all families do not have computers or tablets, and an estimated 20% of them do not even own a phone. Many of those who have a phone have to share it between family members, or cannot enjoy a good or unlimited internet connection. On top of that, children have no desks to work on and very little material available at home.

Our partner education centers have either tried to provide solutions, like donating phones or paying for the families’ internet connection, or adapted the education material they sent to ensure access for as many children as possible.

With these challenges also came great encouragement. Most children and parents took distance learning very seriously, and some families told us it had provided them with a sense of normalcy and helped them to remain “sane” in the middle of the crisis. Overall, this experience has brought closer together entire families, at a time when many parents do not even know how they will provide food for their children the next day. Najwa, a mother of two children enrolled in a partner education center, confirms:

 

“With the lockdown, the education center had to close and my children were very affected and emotional about it. It was a difficult transition, but I was with them the whole time. Helping them in their studies was very beneficial for me since I only studied till the third grade in Syria. I still remembered certain things and learned even more by attending the online program with my children. For example, I learned how to read and write in English.”

As we enter the summer break and are still unsure about how the next academic year is going to look like, please pray:

For well-deserved rest for the educators we work with

For the children to consolidate what they have learnt this school year

For the families to stay united and the parents involved in their children’s education

For our team and our partner education centers, as we design new curricula for the next academic year in an uncertain and ever-evolving environment

Pictures by Tahaddi Lebanon, MERATH’s partner in the outskirts of Beirut

 

 

 

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