It is true that Pandemic has greatly affected the whole world. Not only has it caused employees to adjust their 8am to 5pm work bringing it at home, it has also affected the young ones who looked forward to waking up in the morning, traveling to school, bonding with friends, and learning from their teachers face to face.

Moreover, the situation is worse in the rural areas of the country. Other than a lack of technological resources, connecting online is also a challenge. Stories of parents working double time to provide educational needs for their children or stories of children walking a few kilometers to find Internet signal is already common, especially in remote areas.

This October, online classes started!

Thanks to our partners and donors, our young girls were provided with computer sets to engage them to keep learning.

The School of Life (SOL) team adapted to the new normal and organized the beneficiaries’ daily schedule. Volunteer tutors were tapped to help our girls with their lessons virtually. Mr. Rheal, one of the volunteer online tutor shared what it is for him to be a volunteer with ACAY, “It is in true giving that we find more. My stint in ACAY as a volunteer online tutor provided me with a deeper sense of purpose, productivity and community”

As weeks passed and quarantine measures have eased, the SOL team invited a licensed teacher to come to the residential house twice a week to teach our youth Mathematics and History. To see the effectiveness of this, the girls have a monthly exam to assess their understanding and learning. All this was organized in order to help the girls gradually adjust and prepare for the online class set-up.

And we need to be prepared, this might last until the end of the year or even the whole school year. One of our beneficiaries said that “the new normal is really a big change for me, it’s hard because I am not used to seeing and listening to my teachers’ discussion from a computer screen.”

This is one of the many new paradigms our youth have to deal with. Amidst all these, our youth are still able to study with minimal challenges, and it was possible because of your support.

To express our gratitude, we let the last word to Alexa, one of our beneficiaries.

These times are hard for most of the youth everywhere, but I am happy to have the privilege and opportunity to continue studying. This opportunity will never be wasted but rather would be a strong foundation for me to continue reaching for my dreams in life. Your precious support specially at this time means so much for us. Maraming Salamat po!