Creeping in as a health hazard, COVID-19 quickly wreaked havoc on socio-economic infrastructures and undermined decades of development gains made by both rich and poor countries. But the cruelest blow fell on our children’s education, turning it into a nightmare.
Our first step included surveying children’s families to understand their needs and get a handle on the potential obstacles to remote schooling. We also assessed our teachers’ needs. We sourced laptops and tablets for our teachers to prepare lessons. That was the easy part! Few of our children’s homes have a TV, and even fewer have a computer with WIFI. Some can’t even afford a cell phone.
The solution wasn’t ideal, but it had the maximum reach to the students. Our teachers developed weekly study lessons and assignments, packing them with food rations to be delivered to the children’s homes, or to be collected by their parents from Kids Alive sites. Those with cell phones got their study resources via social media along with instructional videos.
“A recent study showed that in some of our communities, less than 10% of students graduate from high school before age 20,” says Vic Trautwein, Country Director, Kids Alive Dominican Republic. He adds, “In sharp contrast to this, Kids Alive students have a graduation rate of over 80%, despite the fact that our kids come from the most challenging circumstances.”
As COVID-19 continues to loom large going into 2021, our teachers have redoubled their resolve to counter its impact on education.
We are grateful to you, our supporters, for continuing to walk alongside us, even as our teachers walk alongside our children.
Thank you!
An interview with Berlin Maria Batista, 1st-grade teacher, ANIJA School 
Berlin has worked for Kids Alive for four years and currently teaches at the ANIJA School. She formerly was an at-risk child who became a student at ANIJA as a nine-year-old. She currently is finishing an education degree in university with the help of a KAI scholarship. As a child, Berlin was forced to do domestic work and hence lost several years of “being a child.”
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Being able to support and share God’s love with children in a safe place and being a teacher who does much more than just care about mathematics or reading! I also enjoy supervising and participating in recesses where I can watch the children play and have the opportunity to be children!
How has teaching during the pandemic been challenging?
It’s been hard to reach each child easily or get to know them and their surroundings. I feel that the pandemic has put a lot of stress on our children since they have a pleasant memory of going to school. It is difficult to spend time with some of my students by phone or via social media because they are only 5 and 6 years old. In one particularly difficult situation, both parents are mute, which makes it more challenging since the child does not have someone to help him at home.
What are the risks children are facing at this time?
Many children’s families are facing an economic crisis, which means that their children are going hungry. It is also no secret that many suffer from abuse, stress, anxiety, and the loneliness that can occur when parents go to work and leave them at home. Some experience frustration because they are small and always need a helping hand to learn some things. (Note: the school has been identifying families with the most need and distributing food. The counseling staff is active emotionally supporting children and families too).
What are some positive things you have noticed during these times?
Kids Alive (unlike many institutions in the DR) has continued to pay our salaries. They have also trained us to do our work in different ways. Our leadership has watched over, cared for, and prayed for each employee.
How has it been challenging to teach during the pandemic?
Children need to feel that the support provided in a classroom motivates them to develop their own learning abilities. Physical contact like a “give me five” or hugs with young children help develop relationships between the teacher and the student. The environment in which the child finds himself is very important to develop social skills and curricular competence. There is no such deeper communication with distance learning.
Is there a specific example?
I have three children in a [virtual] class with whom I can rarely talk, and when we do, the time is too short to create strong ties. One is a child with mute parents, a second has no access to social media, and the third has parents who cannot speak Spanish (a Haitian family who speak Creole).
Is there anything creative you have done to better teach children?
Every two weeks we send a study package to the students’ homes for them to work on. I record a devotion video every day and send it out via WhatsApp. My students send voice notes to me to tell me what they’ve learned. On Fridays, I do a Zoom call with all my students together so they can see their friends. I have a relationship with the child but also with their parents. I also talk to them and find out how he or she feels. Every two weeks we do a Zoom call with the children’s parents explaining how the children need to complete the school materials. I take advantage of this time to give encouragement and instructions and better understand their concerns.
Has there been any encouraging event?
There’s a mother who has twins in my virtual classroom. She was open about her family situation with me. She asked me for help with my prayers because her daughter had a problem which she had the confidence to share with me. I kindly suggested that she consult with our school psychologist. She was grateful for the suggestion and happy for the assistance. Another mother asked me if I could pray for her husband as he was undergoing a kidney operation.
Something sad but endearing is that there are four children who sometimes call me crying because they want to go to school and tell their mothers to take them to their teacher. Really, the children who pass through my classroom win my heart. They encourage me to love my work more than I do naturally.
Ark Jarabacoa academic coordinator Romery circulates among the multigrade classrooms to give extra assistance and guidance. Many of our residential children arrive in our care behind in their schooling, this is a great opportunity to provide some "catch-up" education as well as forge deep connections.
Palo Blanco office staff Raquel, sorts through completed assignments that are ready for grading. The reviewing and grading of classwork has required detailed and creative planning. Our teachers trained in Trauma Competent Care, approach students struggling to complete their work with an awareness and understanding that there may be larger issues behind delayed assignments.
Palo Blanco School teachers Hember, Eric, and Ana Alba enjoy a moment of comradery while planning lessons and devotions for their students. Although held on the school campus, discipleship “Club” is an important time for students to connect it helps prevent at-risk teens from pregnancy, alcoholism, and drug abuse, as well as school dropouts.
Rosanny , teacher, Santo Domingo East, visits her 4th graders as she is concerned about their wellbeing. *Amanda presented her with a beautiful letter full of love and a desire to be back at school. Home visits challenging as the Dominican government has curfews in place as well as a mandatory mask requirement and a prohibition of students on school campuses.
Director Luz Angela, Constanza School, and her staff created detailed COVID-19 safety protocols for parents to visit the school campus for parent-teacher meetings and exchange of completed and new schoolwork assignments. Hand disinfection, masks, and proper distancing are all enforced to ensure everyone’s safety.
