Aliyah prays for a COVID-free country

When Aliyah heard the news that physical classes will be postponed until a vaccine will be discovered to fight COVID-19, she felt sad.

“I am starting to forget the lessons I learned during the previous school year,” said the young girl from Antique.

But the student is still hopeful that everything will get back to normal. “I pray that all people will follow the health protocols so that they will not be harmed. I also pray that our country will be COVID-free already,” she shared

The Department of Education introduced alternative learning methods that the students can choose to continue their studies while staying at home such as the distance learning, blended learning, and home-school.

According to a World Vision nationwide survey, the preferred choice of parents and students is physical learning and second is the distance learning. While physical learning is already out of the picture, distance learning is the most feasible method. Under it are online, modular, and TV/Radio learning.

For Aliyah and her family, online learning will be very challenging because – even if they will invest with a wifi connection – their community has a weak internet signal.

The family also doesn’t have enough gadgets. “I have 4 school-aged children but we only have 2 smartphones,” said Aliyah’s mother who is thinking to enroll her children to the modular learning method.

For the Modular Learning Method, the students will use self-learning modules either in print or digital format. Teachers are required to monitor the progress of learners by communicating with them through different means including email, telephone, text message, or instant messaging. Household members, especially parents, will play an important role in supporting their children’s learning activities.

Recently, Aliyah received a school kit from World Vision. The kit includes a school bag with school supplies in it. For the student, the supplies will be helpful for her learning requirements come school time. The bag can also be useful in the next school year when physical learning resumes.

This year, World Vision donated school kits to around 2,500 learners in Aliyah’s community.

Story by Mong Jimenez, Photos by Shine Fegarido and Jessamy Ribeiro