COVID-19 is affecting all sorts of things around the world. People can’t do the things they usually do like traveling, having large parties, or attending big events like concerts. Here in Cambodia students can’t go to school or meet each other in person. This has a huge impact on the people who lost their jobs and can’t make living to feed their families.
In Cambodia, the big struggle we are facing right now is education. Since COVID-19 appeared, all schools shut down and the students can’t go to school, instead remote learning options have been provided. Unfortunately, most of the students who work with CFI are not able to access the internet because of the family’s situation. They don’t have electronic devices like smartphones or tablets to access the internet so the students are not able to keep their education.
Luckily, CFI partnered with Cellcard, a big mobile service provider in Cambodia who sees the struggles of these children. They funded money for CFI to buy 30 tablets plus sim cards with a year free of the internet data for the students to use for their remote learning. This support truly helps children to keep their education going during the COVID-19.
After a few weeks of using the tablet for remote learning, we asked one of the students about their experience, and here is what he said:
Question: What do you find difficult about learning during COVID-19?
Answer: During this period, the most difficult thing is getting in touch with my teachers and friends to keep up with the lessons. Because we can’t meet in person, all the lessons the teachers share are in a messenger group. Sometimes I can access it but often I can’t so I fall behind and the work is hard to catch up.
Question: What has CFI done to help you during this time?
Answer: First, CFI allowed me to use the computer in the lap to access the internet to get the lesson from the messenger group, but I still did not always get it on time, because sometimes teachers provide the lessons at different times or change the schedule without me knowing.
Question: After getting a tablet to use, how did it help you?
Answer: After getting a tablet it helps me a lot. I can access the internet whenever I need to and I never missed the lessons from the teachers again. I also can join the video call with my friends when we have a self-taught class. It’s really making my learning much easier. I can’t wait to do the examination at the end of this year.
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